Bahrain has stripped 40 activists of citizenship since January: Rights group

An independent human rights group says the Bahraini regime has revoked the citizenship of dozens of people since the beginning of the current year as the ruling Al Khalifah dynasty continues with its crackdown on human rights activists and pro-democracy campaigners in the kingdom.

The UK-based Salam for Democracy and Human Rights announced in a post published on its official Twitter page that the Manama regime has stripped 40 people of their citizenship since January, the Arabic-language Bahrain Mirror news website reported.

The report added that the figure brings to 840 the number of political dissidents, who have lost their nationality since 2012.

On Tuesday, Bahrain’s Fourth High Criminal Court sentenced six defendants to life in prison after finding them guilty of “having received training in the use of munitions, possession of explosive devices and weapons for terrorist purposes, hiding convicted citizens and entering and leaving Bahrain.”

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Hamadi added that six defendants were sentenced to 10 years in jail, one was given a five-year jail term and three others received three-year prison sentences. The court also stripped three of the political dissidents of their citizenship, and ordered a dozen of them to pay a fine of 500 dinars ($1,326).

Separately, the same court found three anti-regime protesters guilty of “having received training in Iran and Iraq” and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The trio were also ordered to pay a fine of 300 dinars ($795).

It also sentenced a dissident to seven years in prison and handed down five-year jail terms to two others. The court revoked the citizenship of five of the convicts as well.

Bahrain judiciary extends teens’ remand custody

Meanwhile, Bahrain’s Public Prosecution has granted the remand custody of two teenagers for another week.

Hussein Rashid Abdullah and Ali Hussein Abdul Wahab, both 14 years old, were arrested on February 16 in connection with participation in an unlawful gathering, and subsequently sentenced to five days in custody.

Thousands of anti-regime protesters have held demonstrations in Bahrain on an almost daily basis ever since a popular uprising began in the country in mid-February 2011.

They are demanding that the Al Khalifah regime relinquish power and allow a just system representing all Bahrainis to be established.

Manama has gone to great lengths to clamp down on any sign of dissent. On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed to assist Bahrain in its crackdown.

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Scores of people have lost their lives and hundreds of others sustained injuries or got arrested as a result of the Al Khalifah regime’s crackdown.

On March 5, 2017, Bahrain’s parliament approved the trial of civilians at military tribunals in a measure blasted by human rights campaigners as being tantamount to imposition of an undeclared martial law countrywide.

Bahraini monarch King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah ratified the constitutional amendment on April 3, 2017.

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