ABU DHABI ø Bahrain has undergone increasing tension amid a trial that questions the validity of reforms in the Gulf Arab kingdom.

The trial has been accompanied by unusually harsh Shi'ite demonstrations against the kingdom. Analysts said the dissent marks a challenge to the Sunni regime led by King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Abdul Hadi Al Khawajah has been charged with inciting hatred against the government and distributing false information regarding its officials. Al Khawajah has been executive director of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, an organization disbanded by authorities.

"You have been accused of inciting hatred of the regime by publicly calling it corrupt," Judge Mohammad Al Kafrawi told Al Khawajah. "You have been accused of making false news and rumors that may harm the public interest by describing the government and its head as corrupt and accusing them of wasting and embezzling public funds."

The trial of Al Khawajah opened on Oct. 16 and was accompanied by demonstrations in the courtroom. Hundreds of supporters chanted anti-government slogans, most of them directed against Prime Minister Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa.

Officials have warned the Shi'ite community against fomenting unrest. Al Khawajah and his supporters are Shi'ites and they have increasingly questioned the dominant role of the minority Sunni community in Bahrain.

Shi'ites were said to comprise more than 75 percent of the 700,000 nationals in the kingdom. Manama hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet and Bahrain has been regarded as a leading Gulf Cooperation Council ally of the United States.

In 2001, Al Khawajah benefited from a pardon by King Hamad. For 22 years, Hamad and his family had been in exile in Europe.

Shi'ite leaders have warned of an explosion should Al Khawajah ø who faces three years in prison ø be convicted. In response, the Interior Ministry has threatened a crackdown. The trial was scheduled to continue on Wednesday.