Bahrain court gives life sentence to nearly dozen dissidents

Rasa - A court in Bahrain has sentenced 10 anti-regime protesters to life imprisonment and revoked their citizenship as the ruling Al Khalifah regime presses ahead with its heavy-handed clampdown on political dissidents and pro-democracy campaigners in the Persian Gulf kingdom.

News ID: 437963

Date: 30 May 2018 - 22:18

RNA - On Wednesday, Bahrain’s Supreme Court of Appeal found the defendants guilty over establishment of a “terrorist group” in Nuwaidrat village, located about 10 kilometers (six miles) south of the capital Manama, and possession of weapons.

Thousands of anti-regime protesters have held demonstrations in Bahrain on an almost daily basis ever since a popular uprising began in the country in mid-February 2011.

They are demanding that the Al Khalifah dynasty relinquish power and allow a just system representing all Bahrainis to be established.

Manama has gone to great lengths to clamp down on any sign of dissent. On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed to assist Bahrain in its crackdown.

According to Press TV, scores of people have lost their lives and hundreds of others sustained injuries or got arrested as a result of the Al Khalifah regime’s crackdown.

On March 5, 2017, Bahrain’s parliament approved the trial of civilians at military tribunals in a measure blasted by human rights campaigners as being tantamount to imposition of an undeclared martial law countrywide.

Bahraini monarch King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah ratified the constitutional amendment on April 3 last year.

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