Bahraini court upholds life sentences for six citizens

An appeals court in Bahrain upheld life sentences for six citizens over their alleged role in a 2014 bombing that hit the flashpoint village of Diraz.

An appeals court in Bahrain upheld life sentences for six citizens over their alleged role in a 2014 bombing that hit the flashpoint village of Diraz.

According to al Laulau website, it upheld the verdicts issued by a lower court in May.

The six, all Shia Muslims, were convicted in May of inciting anti-regime protests back in November 2014 with the aim of dragging the police towards a bomb in Diraz, situated outside the capital, Manama.

Two Bahraini police officers were injured as the homemade bomb exploded.

The regime in Manama has responded to the anti-regime demonstrations with a heavy hand, jailing dozens of political dissidents and dissolving major opposition groups. Scores of people have also lost their lives in the Saudi-backed clampdown.

The UN and leading human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have repeatedly urged Manama to end its repression of political dissent in the Shia-majority kingdom.