Bahrain handed out life sentences Monday to 14 men for killing a Pakistani national during pro-democracy protests led by the Gulf kingdom’s Shi’ite majority earlier this year, the state news agency BNA said.
A military court also sentenced 15 others to 15 years in prison each for the attempted murder of a soldier, vandalizing buildings at the University of Bahrain and “inciting hatred of the ruling system,” the agency said.
Another six received 15 years each for intent to murder several people at the university, while a seventh was given 18 years. They were charged with setting a building on fire to kill those on an upper floor.
Bahrain’s Sunni Muslim rulers quashed the protests in March, with the help of troops from fellow Sunni neighbors Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. At least 30 people were killed, hundreds wounded and more than 1,000 detained — mostly Shi’ites — 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.
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