Bahrain's Grand Criminal Court has postponed its verdict in the mass trial of 69 defendants, most of them Shia clerics, to 22 November, as protests over the detained religious scholars spread to 19 areas of the island.

The verdict had been expected on Sunday, 8 November. Instead, the court adjourned the session, with the ruling now due on 22 November, according to reports of the proceedings.

Protests in 19 areas

Demonstrations were held in 19 areas across Bahrain, including Karana, Shahrakan, Malikiyah, Abu Saiba, Markh, Karbabad, Nuwaidrat, Diraz, A'ali, Saar, Abu Quwah, Karzakan, Barbar, Dar Kulaib, Nabih Saleh, Sidad, Jazirat Sitra and Maqaba.

Protesters expressed solidarity with the detained clerics and demanded their immediate and unconditional release. They also voiced concern over the continuing judicial proceedings against them.

The postponement coincides with the continuation of protest activities and solidarity gatherings in several Bahraini villages and areas, alongside campaigns demanding the immediate release of detained prisoners of conscience among the religious scholars, according to human rights and local sources cited in reports of the case.

Who is on trial

The case involves 69 defendants, including 60 Shia clerics and nine affiliates, according to a joint statement by Amnesty International and 19 other human rights groups. Of the 56 defendants in custody, 47 are clerics and nine are affiliates, including religious reciters. The remaining 13 clerics are being tried in absentia.

The defendants face charges including establishing a group described by the authorities as a terrorist organisation, attempting to overthrow the constitutional system and promoting Iran's doctrine of wilayat al-faqih, or Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist, by controlling mosques and religious gatherings. The defendants and rights groups dispute the charges.

Among those on trial are respected figures who lead major congregations. Sheikh Mohammed Sanqour and Sheikh Ali Al-Sadadi led Friday prayers at the Imam Al-Sadiq Grand Mosque in Duraz, which hosts Bahrain's largest Shia Friday congregation.

Rights groups raise torture claims

Twenty rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, have raised allegations of torture, coerced confessions and other due-process violations in the case.

The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy said it had obtained firsthand accounts from detainees alleging abuses including forced standing, prolonged blindfolding and handcuffing, sleep deprivation and threats of physical and sexual violence against the detainees and their families, as well as citizenship revocation and deportation.

Bahrain's prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim has urged Bahrainis to support the religious scholars facing trial, saying that standing by them was both a national and moral duty.

Background to the crackdown

Between May and June, the authorities arrested more than 50 clerics and religious orators, accusing them of trying to run a group that sought to incite rebellion and overthrow the ruling order with help from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Around a dozen people have been sentenced to between five and 10 years in prison for allegedly expressing support for Iran's attacks, and 69 citizens of Iranian heritage have had their citizenship stripped, according to reports of the crackdown.

Bahrain is the only Gulf nation ruled by a Sunni Muslim family while being populated mostly by Shia Muslims. The country crushed pro-democracy protests in 2011, and a detente in 2024 freed hundreds of political prisoners. Rights groups say the current crackdown has reversed that easing of tensions, and the kingdom is bracing for further protests when the verdict is delivered on 22 November.