MANAMA (Dispatches) -- A Bahraini court is due to reconvene Sunday for the final defense hearing in the mass trial of more than 50 Shia clerics, according to official statements and rights groups.
The trial of dozens of Shia clerics and seminary professors is scheduled to resume Sunday after repeated adjournments, with defendants facing charges of forming a terrorist organization, undermining national unity, and promoting Iran’s system of Wilayat al-Faqih. 
The case is one of the largest mass prosecutions of religious figures in Bahrain’s recent history and has drawn scrutiny from international human rights organizations, which say the proceedings signal a widening crackdown on the country’s Shia majority.
The defendants include prominent figures such as Sheikh Muhammad Sanqoor, Sheikh Mahmoud al-Aali, Sheikh Ali al-Siddiqi, and Sheikh Hani al-Banna. 
During the last hearing on October 7, the clerics appeared via video conference rather than in person, a procedure rights activists have criticized as obstructing direct observation of detainees’ conditions and undermining the transparency of the proceedings.
Rights lawyer Sayed Ahmed al-Wadaei said the proceedings, presided over by Judge Jassim al-Ajlan, were held in secret and marred by “grave violations of fair trial standards,” including torture, intimidation, and coerced confessions. 
He said family members and independent monitors have been largely barred from the courtroom, leaving defendants without adequate legal support and raising concerns about the fairness of the process.
Activist Abdulghani Khanjar said Sheikh Sanqoor, despite attempts by the judge to prevent him from speaking, defended himself and other clerics, disclosing that he had been forced to stand blindfolded for a full week and was presented with a statement containing dozens of pages of questions he said were never asked during interrogation. 
Khanjar described the hearing as chaotic, with the judge repeatedly cutting off defendants who tried to raise procedural objections.
The prosecution alleges the clerics established a terrorist group aimed at suspending constitutional provisions, preventing state institutions from functioning, and promoting Iran’s Islamic system through control of mosques and religious gatherings. 
Defense lawyers have rejected the charges as politically motivated, arguing that the clerics were targeted solely for their religious affiliation and peaceful religious activity.
The opposition group Al-Wefaq says 62 clerics have been documented as arrested — 60 in Bahrain and two in the UAE — with over 820 total detentions recorded since the start of the terrorist U.S.-Israeli war on Iran in March 2026. 
Bahraini authorities have not publicly commented on the figures cited by opposition and rights groups, and no date has been set for a verdict.