AhlulBayt News Agency

source : presstv
Tuesday

4 September 2012

7:35:00 AM
344401

Bahrain upholds verdicts of 20 leading opposition leaders

A Bahraini civilian court has upheld the sentences against at least 20 leading opposition leaders, Bahrain's Information Affairs Authority says.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - A Bahraini civilian court has upheld the sentences handed down to at least 13 leading opposition leaders, Bahrain's Information Affairs Authority says.

The jail terms, seven of them life sentences, were previously issued by a military court.

The lawyers of the opposition leaders say, however, that the civilian court's decision may still be appealed.

Human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and opposition leader Hassan Mushaimaa are among those sentenced to life in prison.

"The verdict does not come as a shock. With no international consequences and accountability for the Bahrain regime, they have no incentive to change," Khawaja's daughter, Maryam, said on Twitter.

The Bahraini regime sentenced human rights activists Nabeel Rajab to three years in prison over charges of participation in anti-regime rallies in the Persian Gulf island state.

This is while human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have called for the immediate release of Rajab from jail.

Yet, the Al Khalifa regime has already turned down international calls to free political prisoners.

The tiny Persian Gulf island state, which is home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, has been the scene of anti-regime protests since February last year and scores of people have been killed and hundreds more injured in the Saudi-backed crackdown on the protests.

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