Bahrain court sentences 11 people to 15 years in jail each

A court in Bahrain has sentenced 11 anti-regime protesters to 15 years in prison each in connection with a non-deadly attack on a police station in a village.

The court in the capital, Manama, also handed a seven year prison term to a 12th defendant on Sunday, the prosecutor’s office said.

All 12 defendants were accused of taking part in an attack on a police station in the village of Aali in October. Four policemen were injured in the attack.

Charges against the men included premeditated murder, possession of explosives and starting a fire for terrorist purposes, as well as unlawful assembly, the official Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported.

Bahraini courts have sentenced more than 200 activists to long-term prison sentences on charges of alleged involvement in terrorist activities and acting against national security. At least 70 activists have received life imprisonment since the uprising began in 2011.

A Bahraini boy is arrested during clashes with riot police on June 19, 2014 in the village of Daih, west of Manama.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of pro-democracy protesters have staged numerous demonstrations in the streets of the Shia-majority country, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power in favor of a constitutional monarchy.

This is while the top opposition leader, Sheikh Ali Salman, has been placed behind bars on December 28 over allegations of inciting hatred against the government and calling for the overthrow of the regime. The al-Wefaq National Islamic Society has rejected the charges as malicious and outright lies.

Scores of Bahrainis have been killed and hundreds of others injured and arrested in the ongoing crackdown on demonstrations.

A recent report by Human Rights Watch said Bahraini courts have become more active in sustaining repression in the country.