Bahraini repression continues against peaceful anti-government protesters, with a special court sentences more 36 demonstrators to life, or 25 years in prison in three different cases.

Bahraini repression continues against peaceful anti-government protesters, with a special court sentences more 36 demonstrators to life, or 25 years in prison in three different cases.

The court sentenced fourteen protesters to life, or 25 years in prison, claiming they were 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 “being found guilty of attempting to murder military personnel, in addition to taking part in protests and vandalism at 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.

The students had been charged with "holding people hostage in building S20 and setting it on fire with the aim of killing those in the upper floor" in addition to damaging the building and stealing computers, it said.
The students were collectively fined 349,300 Bahraini dinars ($926,377), it added.

The three groups were sentenced by the National Safety Court, a special security court set up following a mid-March brutal crackdown on Protesters.

The Kingdom has witnessed peaceful anti-government rallies since mid-February, demanding an end to the Al Khalifa's over-40-year-long rule over the Persian Gulf Island.

Scores of people have been killed and hundreds more arrested in a Manama-ordered and Riyadh-backed crackdown in the country.