Bahrain has revoked the citizenship of 69 people over what it described as sympathy with Iran’s hostile acts ​and collaboration with foreign entities, the kingdom’s interior ministry said ‌in a statement.

The ministry said that the 69 people included accused individuals and their family members, and that they were all of non-Bahraini origin.

“The Bahraini nationality has ​been revoked from those individuals for glorifying or sympathising with the ​hostile Iranian acts, or engaging in contacts with external parties,” ⁠the ministry said.

It said the revocations had been carried out in ​accordance with royal directives from King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and ​were based on Article 10/3 of the Bahraini Nationality Law. The article provides for the revocation of citizenship in cases of “causing harm to the interests of the kingdom ​or acting in a manner that contradicts the duty of loyalty to ​it”.

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The interior ministry said the competent authorities were “continuing to study and review” who deserves ‌Bahraini ⁠citizenship.

Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, advocacy director at the Britain-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), condemned the move, calling it “the beginning of a dangerous era of repression” and saying the decisions were “imposed without legal safeguards or any ​right of appeal”.

BIRD ​said it was ⁠the first such revocation of citizenship in Bahrain since 2019. Between 2012 and 2019, Bahrain revoked the citizenship ​of at least 990 nationals, the group said.

Iran fired ​at targets ⁠in Bahrain and other Gulf Arab states where the United States has military bases after the US and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28.

Bahrain’s ⁠Global ​Communication Office did not immediately respond to ​a request for comment on the case and on the institute’s statement.