Dubai: Bahrain’s lower court sentenced 10 men to life in prison on Tuesday on charges of plotting attacks a day after the Gulf state sentenced 19 others to lengthy prison terms.
Three were sentenced in absentia after fleeing to Iran, Ahmad Al Hamadi, head of the counter-terrorism prosecution, said in a statement on Twitter.
The 10 were also stripped of their Bahraini citizenship, Hamadi said.
They had been charged with forming an outlawed group that plotted “terror” attacks, smuggling arms and ammunition into Bahrain, travelling to Iran and Iraq for military training and possessing arms and ammunition.
On Monday, 19 people were given lengthy jail terms after being convicted of spying for Iran and plotting to overthrow the government.
Eight were given life terms, nine got 15 years and two received 10 years for espionage and inciting public dissent, a statement from the counter-terrorism prosecutor’s office said.
Fifteen of those convicted on Monday were also stripped of Bahraini citizenship, the statement said.
Dozens of Bahrainis have been jailed and stripped of citizenship since the 2011 outbreak of protests.
In April, parliament gave approval for military courts to try civilians charged with terrorism.
Manama accuses Iran of training “terrorist cells” that aim to overthrow Bahrain’s government, an allegation Tehran denies.
