Bahraini court passes prison sentences on 21 activists

A court in Bahrain has handed down prison sentences ranging from two to fifteen years to 21 peaceful protesters as the ruling Aal-e Khalifah minority regime presses ahead with its heavy clampdown on political dissidents and pro-democracy activists in the kingdom.

According to Press TV, on Thursday, Bahraini regime's Supreme Court of Appeal, presided by Judge Mohammed bin Ali Aal-e Khalifah, found the defendants guilty of attempts to kill two policemen by setting fire to the patrol car they had been riding, and the destruction of a truck belonging to a food company.

The ruled that three defendants must be sentenced to 10 years in prison instead of 15, while the fourth was given a 15-year jail term.

Sixteen others have to serve two years in jail instead of three, while the last one received a three-year prison sentence.

The Manama regime has stepped up crackdown on political dissent in the wake of US President Donald Trump's meeting with Bahraini monarch King Hamad bin Isa Aal-e Khalifah during a summit in the Saudi capital city of Riyadh last month.

Less than 48 hours after the US president left Saudi Arabia, Bahraini regime troops attacked supporters of prominent religious scholar Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim in the northwestern village of Diraz, killing at least five people and arresting 286 others. Reports said 19 policemen were also injured in the clashes.

The London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy said Trump “effectively gave Hamad a blank check to continue the repression of his people.”

SS