Bahrain’s High Criminal Court on Tuesday sentenced 139 terror suspects to prison terms ranging from three years to life in prison. The court also revoked the citizenship of all but one of those convicted.
Bahrain’s state news agency reported that the 139 people convicted were part of a network organized and trained by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), an arm of the Iranian state designated by the US Treasury department as a terrorist organization. Bahrain’s ruling family is Sunni and most of those sentenced are believed to be Shia.
The decision was immediately condemned by Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director, Lynn Maalouf, writing: “With these outrageous sentences, Bahrain’s authorities have once again demonstrated their complete disregard for international fair trial standards.” In February Bahrain convicted 167 people of participating in a non-violent sit-in, and in a separate May 2018 trial 115 people were stripped of their citizenship in a similar trial.
Those convicted have a right to appeal the sentences.