News / Persian Gulf

Bahraini court sentences 23 people to 10 years in jail each

Wednesday, 20 January 2016 9:44 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 20 January 2016 9:45 AM ]

Bahraini protesters run for cover during clashes with police in the village of Sitra, south of the capital, Manama, January 8, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

A court in Bahrain has sentenced 23 people to 10 years in prison each over their alleged involvement in an attack on Al Khalifa regime forces in the Persian Gulf Arab kingdom.

According to Bahraini media, the country’s High Criminal Court ruled on Wednesday that the defendants had detonated an explosive device intended to target regime forces. Additionally, they were charged with unlawful assembly in the northwestern village of Bani Jamra.

This comes as the Bahraini judiciary has come under fire by many human rights groups for handing down long jail terms to anti-regime protesters and activists in the country.

Amnesty International and other rights groups have repeatedly censured the Bahraini regime over the “rampant” human rights abuses against opposition activists and anti-government protesters.

Bahraini protesters walk past burning tires during clashes with police in the village of Sitra, south of the capital, Manama, January 8, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

On Tuesday, Bahraini protesters staged a fresh anti-regime rally in the northern village of Abu Saiba and called on the regime to heed calls by the United Nations and human rights organizations to resolve the political crisis in the country and release all political prisoners.

Anti-regime protesters have been holding demonstrations on the streets of Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for the Al Khalifah family to relinquish power. The regime’s ongoing heavy-handed crackdown on peaceful demonstrations has left scores of people dead, hundreds injured, and many more incarcerated.

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