Opposition groups have said hundreds of people are on trial, in what they call a revenge move by Bahrain’s rulers after they quashed anti-government protests in March.

“This is revenge, pure and simple,” said one opposition figure, who declined to be named.

The government says the numbers on trial are far fewer than the opposition estimates, and that the number of those facing charges compared to the thousands who protested proves it only pursues those it suspects of a crime.

Bahrain’s state news agency BNA said the military was holding trials for 52 people, most of them in their second hearing. Of these, the 22 new defendants faced charges ranging from calling for regime change, spreading photos to hurt the country’s reputation, and carrying swords, it said.

The government last week lifted the state of emergency it imposed in March after protests and is calling for a national dialogue to plan reforms next month, but tensions are simmering as small protests erupt daily in some neighborhoods.

Separately, activists said Bahrain’s Polytechnic university dismissed around 47 students over political statements they had posted on Twitter and Facebook.

The university’s vice president told the local daily Al-Ayam several students were dismissed due to unconstitutional acts after an in-depth questioning of the students, but did not say how many were expelled.

Bahrain’s leading opposition group, Wefaq, said the trials and new student dismissals conflicted with dialogue.

“The Wefaq Society feels these practices and abuses... by Bahraini authorities conflict with its official call for dialogue, and considers them provocative,” it said in a statement.