An opposition activist in Bahrain has been remanded in custody for seven days after being charged with posting political tweets on Twitter against the Interior Ministry.

Nabeel Rajab was arrested at Bahrain International Airport on Saturday night as he returned from Lebanon in connection with the case.

He also appeared in court yesterday accused of taking part in an illegal rally in Manama on the first anniversary of Bahrain's anti-government protests. Mr Rajab allegedly incited others to participate via his mobile phone and Twitter account on February 14.

He refused to speak during a Lower Criminal Court hearing and the trial was adjourned to May 22 for review.

Rajab was among 70 people who were detained as trouble flared across Bahrain to mark the first anniversary of anti-government protests.

Six Americans were among those who were earlier detained for taking part in an illegal gathering and were deported after it was found they had acquired tourist visas under false pretences, according to the Information Affairs Authority.

They were detained by security forces as groups of youths attempted to storm the site of the former GCC (Pearl) roundabout, blocked roads and went on the rampage in several areas. – TradeArabia News Service