Bahrainis sentenced for deadly bombing

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-35205447

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A Bahraini court has sentenced one person to death and 22 others to life in prison over two deadly bomb attacks in the country last year, reports say.

The defendants, all of whom are Shia Muslims, were also convicted of forming a terrorist organisation in the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom.

All had their citizenship revoked, judicial sources said.

Bahrain has been wracked by unrest since mass Shia-led protests calling for reforms were put down in 2011.

At least 90 people, including at least 18 policemen, have been killed in the ongoing violence.

The 23 were convicted of carrying out the bombings in two Shia villages last December. One of the blasts killed a Jordanian policeman, and the other caused the death of a Bahraini man.

The attacks were the work of the same "terrorist group" which "specialised in making explosives to target policemen", chief prosecutor Ahmed al-Hammadi said.

The case is the latest in a series of trials, some involving many defendants, in connection with unrest and deadly attacks in the kingdom.

On Tuesday, 29 people were jailed for five years to life over a bombing in which police officers were injured last year.

Human rights groups have criticised Bahrain's justice system for failing to provide fair trials and imposing draconian sentences.