Bahrain arrests 20 people over one week

Bahraini forces have arrested more than 20 people, as the crackdown on dissent intensifies in the tiny Persian Gulf Island.
Officials say the arrests occurred over a one-week period, with four women among the apprehended. The detainees are now facing charges of QUOTE plotting acts of terrorism and aiding fugitives. This, as Bahrain’s lower house of parliament voted in favor of a constitutional amendment which allows military courts to bring civilians to trial. Senior Bahraini clerics have slammed the controversial plan and rights groups have also cried foul, saying Manama is criminalizing dissent. Popular protests against the ruling Al Khalifa regime have entered their seventh year now. The uprising has led to the deaths of hundreds, with thousands sent behind bars.