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Agencies
Bahrain's opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman has been handed a life sentence in a move that Amnesty has described as a"travesty of justice" amid the country's"continued crackdown on dissent".
Sheikh Ali Salman, who headed the now-banned Al-Wefaq movement, and two of his aides, had been acquitted by the high criminal court in June, a verdict the public prosecution appealed.
Bahrain's public prosecutor said the three men were jailed for"acts of hostility" against Bahrain and"communicating with Qatari officials... to overthrow constitutional order", according to AFP.
But the accusations, which date back seven years, only came to light last year ” after Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt cut links with Qatar.
"Despite the ongoing scrutiny on the Gulf region, with Saudi Arabia being under the spotlight for its brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi, Bahrain has made a decision that reeks of arrogance," said Sayed Al Wadaei, head of London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy.
