Bahraini court jails 24 Shias, strips them of citizenship

A Bahrain court has sentenced 24 Shia citizens to jail and revoked their nationality as the authorities presses ahead with its heavy-handed clampdown on the majority community in the Persian Gulf kingdom. 

A Bahrain court has sentenced 24 Shia citizens to jail and revoked their nationality as the authorities presses ahead with its heavy-handed clampdown on the majority community in the Persian Gulf kingdom. 

An unnamed Bahraini judicial source said Thursday that the High Criminal Court had found the defendants guilty of alleged forming of a “terrorist group,” travelling abroad for “weapons and explosives training” and attempted murder of policemen.

The source also noted that 10 of the defendants had received life imprisonment, 10 sentenced to a decade behind bars and the remaining four to jail terms between three and five years.

Since February 14, 2011, Bahraini people have been holding peaceful protest rallies on an almost daily basis, demanding a system that represents all Bahrainis be established.