Bahrain court jails over a dozen Shia activists to life in jail

A court in Bahrain has sentenced more than a dozen Shia activists to life in jail over their role in protests against the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom.

On Wednesday, Bahraini court sentenced at least 14 Shia activists to life in prison over the death of a policeman killed in an explosion.

Sources say the activists were arrested during an anti-government rally in the tiny Persian Gulf island nation last year. The court has found them guilty of pre-meditated murder, possession of petrol bombs and taking part in demonstrations.

A large number of activists have been given long jail terms or the death penalty for their opposition to the Al Khalifa regime. However, none of the measures have prevented the opposition from pursuing their democratic demands.

The main opposition party in Bahrain, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, says prisoners at a Bahraini jail are suffering from “mistreatment” and their basic humanitarian needs are being ignored.

In a statement released on August 5, the al-Wefaq human rights department voiced “grave concern” about the conditions of the Bahraini activists locked up in the Jau prison.

The opposition bloc added that it “repeatedly” received complaints from people about “various human rights violations such as cruel and degrading treatment, torture, and being held incommunicado.”

This is while Amnesty International and several other human rights groups have voiced concerns over Bahrain’s crackdown on anti-regime protesters.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have staged numerous demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.

Over a hundred people have lost their lives and thousands more have been detained ever since.