The Bahraini opposition bloc al-Wefaq has condemned a court decision upholding prison terms for 13 pro-democracy activists

The Bahraini opposition bloc al-Wefaq has condemned a court decision upholding prison terms for 13 pro-democracy activists, including eight life sentences.

On Monday, Bahrain’s highest court rejected the jailed activists' appeal and upheld their sentences for their roles in anti-regime protests in 2011.

Later in the day, al-Wefaq said in a statement that it considers "the verdict political and [it] reflects the absolute absence of an independent judiciary."

"The judiciary is being controlled and used by the regime in the political conflict to punish dissidents, and… the revolution must continue," the statement added.

Al-Wefaq party leader Sheikh Ali Salman also commented on the ruling, saying, "These judgments confirmed the rulings issued before by the military court which were condemned by the whole world. I think it is accurate to call these rulings political persecution."

In addition, Brian Dooley, director of the Human Rights Defenders Program at the US-based group Human Rights First, stated, "It confirms that the Bahrain regime is refusing to take its chances to reform and seems to be deepening its own human rights crisis.”

After the court ruling, anti-government protests broke out in Bahrain.