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REUTERS
DUBAI
A court in Bahrain revoked the citizenship of 115 people and gave 53 of them life sentences on terrorism charges, the public prosecutor said on Tuesday, in one of the most severe rulings yet in the Gulf island kingdom.
Western-backed Bahrain, where the US Fifth Fleet is based, has been cracking down on Shi'ite opposition groups and rights activists since they led pro-democracy Arab Spring protests in 2011, a crackdown that has been condemned internationally.
Authorities in Sunni Muslim-ruled Bahrain have accused scores of people of militancy in a series of mass trials, saying the defendants are backed by Shi'ite Iran. Rights activists say they have included mostly peaceful opposition members.
This case pertains to Bahrain's allegation in 2015 that Iranian Revolutionary Guards helped Shi'ite Bahraini fugitives join forces to set up a militant group called the Zulfiqar Brigades to destabilise the kingdom.
