Bahrain jails Shia protesters for life: prosecutor

Fourteen sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of beating to death a Pakistani 'with a terrorist aim.'

DUBAI: A Bahraini special court on Monday jailed 36 Shias for up to 25 years each in three separate cases related to month-long democracy protests in the Gulf kingdom, a military prosecutor said.

Fourteen were sentenced to life, or 25 years, in prison after being convicted of beating to death a Pakistani "with a terrorist aim", as well as "assembling for riots", the prosecutor Yusof Fleifel said, quoted by BNA state news agency.

Another 15 were sentenced to 15 years in jail after convicting them of attempting to murder military personnel, in addition to taking part in protests and vandalism at the Bahrain University in Manama, it said.

The third case involved seven university students, six of whom were jailed 15 years, while another was sentenced to 18 years, over charges including attempted murder targeting several people at the university.

Bahrain's Sunni Muslim rulers quashed the protests in March, with the help of troops from fellow Sunni neighbours Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. At least 30 people were killed, hundreds wounded and more than 1,000 detained – mostly Shias – in the crackdown.

Pakistani national Abdulmalik Ghulam Rasool – killed in March – was assaulted with wooden planks and metal bars as he left his home in Manama, BNA said, adding that the 14 were also charged with intending to cause riots and commit other crimes.

Those jailed in all three cases were convicted for "spreading terror", BNA said.

The court rejected requests by lawyers in the three cases for an independent medical committee to investigate allegations that the defendants had been tortured, Mattar Mattar, a member of the largest Shia opposition group Wefaq, told Reuters.

"The lawyers said that a lot of the detainees were forced to give confessions," he said. "This brings the focus on the importance of having a progressive and independent judiciary system in Bahrain."

The United Nations said on Friday that sentences handed down to 20 Bahraini doctors followed flawed trials that failed to meet international standards of transparency and due process. Bahrain faces almost daily protests by Shias, angry over a crackdown in which thousands lost their jobs and over government reform plans that fall short of giving the Gulf state's elected parliament full legislative powers.

Last week a military appeals court upheld life sentences for eight of 21 opposition leaders, rights activists and online activists accused of leading the uprising earlier this year.