A Bahrain court on Wednesday sentenced eight opposition activists to life in prison for "plotting to topple" the kingdom's Sunni rulers during the recent protests that swept the kingdom earlier this year, news agency BNA reported. The National Safety Court of first instance also jailed 13 other activists for terms ranging from two to 15 years on similar charges, it added.
The eight activists include Hassan Ali Hassan Mushaima, head of the Shiite opposition Haq movement, and Abdul Wahab Hussain Ahmad, who leads the Shiite Wafa Islamic Movement, as well as Shiite rights activist Abdulhadi Abdulla Habil Al Khawajah. Activist and Haq member Abduljalil Abdulla Al Sankees, who was released in February after six months in jail, was also sentenced to life.
The verdicts are as follows: 1. Abdul Wahab Hussain Ahmad (Life Imprisonment). 2. Hassan Ali Hassan Mushaima (Life Imprisonment). 3. Mohammed Habib Al Safaf (Al Muqdad) (Life Imprisonment). 4. Ibrahim Shareef Abdulrahim Musa (5 years sentence). 5. Abduljalil Radhi Mansoor Maki (Al Muqdad) (Life Imprisonment). 6. Abduljalil Abdulla Al Sankees (Life Imprisonment). 7. Saeed Mirza Ahmad (Al Noory) (Life Imprisonment). 8. Abdulhadi Abdulla Mahdy Hassan (Al Mukhodher) (15 years sentence). 9. Abdulla Isa Al Mahroos (15 years sentence). 10. Abdulhadi Abdulla Habil Al Khawajah (Life Imprisonment). 11. Saleh Abdulla Habil Al Khawajah (5 years sentence). 12. Mohammed Hassan Mohammed Jawad (15 years sentence). 13. Mohammed Ali Radhi Esmaeel (15 years sentence). 14. Al Hur Yousif Mohammed Al Sumayekh (2 years detention).
The Court also issued the following verdicts in absentia: 1. Saeed Abdulnabi Shehab (Life Imprisonment). 2. Sayed Aqeel Ahmad Ali (Al Sary) (15 years sentence). 3. Abdulraoof Abdulla Ahmad Al Shayeb (15 years sentence). 4. Abbas Abdulaziz Nasser Al Umran (15 years sentence). 5. Ali Hassan Ali Mushaima (15 years sentence). 6. Abdulghani Isa Ali Khanjar (15 years sentence). 7. Ali Hassan Abdulla Abdulemam (15 years sentence).
The defendants have the right to adjourn the issued verdicts against them before the National Safety Appeal Court within a period of 15 days from the date of sentencing.
According to AFP, the sentences sparked protests Wednesday in the Shiite-populated villages of Daraz and Bani Jamrah, west of the capital Manama, and the island of Sitra in the south, human rights activist Nabil Rajab said.
