A court in Bahrain has sentenced 23 Shiites to life imprisonment and another one to death over the killing of a policeman in 2014, a Bahraini defense lawyer has said.
The Daily Star of Lebanon reported that seven of those convicted are in custody while the rest were tried in absentia, including the man sentenced to death.
The defence lawyer for three of the convicted Shiite members, Jassim Sarhan, told The Associated Press that the Higher Criminal Court on Thursday found the 23 guilty of terrorism-related charges, including setting up the explosives that killed the policeman.
He said, “The court also revoked the defendants’ citizenship.
“They have the right to appeal,” he added
The Sunni-led monarchy had been faced with unrest and protests since 2011 by the small Persian Gulf nation’s Shiite majority demanding greater political rights.
It could not be confirmed if the plea of the accused were taken or if they had legal representation, but it was learnt that they had been remanded in prison custody.
Members of the group, had clashed with the Nigerian Army about two weeks ago during which many of them were killed.
Their leader, Ibrahim El-zakyzaky, was subsequently taken into custody by the army before he was released to the police for investigation.