A Bahraini court has upheld the jail terms of 15 years for 17 Shiites convicted over attacks on security forces, a judicial source said Tuesday.
The Manama appeals court, which delivered its verdict on Monday, also reduced sentences for three other defendents in the same case by seven years, Agence France Presse reported.
The Shiites in court were on trial over charges of attempting to murder police, perpetrating arson attacks on police vehicles, causing public disturbances and possessing Molotov cocktails, AFP added.
The sentencing of the 17 Shiites followed a firebomb attack on a police station in the Shiite-village of Sitra in February 2012 that left one policeman seriously injured and the front of the building in ruins, according to AFP.
There has been a marked increase in attacks on police after Shiite protests against Bahrain's Sunni rulers in demand for democratic reforms were swiftly crushed by the state.
Strategically located just across the Gulf from Iran, Bahrain houses the US Navy's Fifth Fleet and is an offshore financial and services centre for its oil-rich Gulf Arab neighbours, according to AFP.
At least 89 people have been killed since the protests began, according to a poll by the International Federation for Human Rights, AFP reported.
