A court in Bahrain has revoked the citizenship of over a dozen people in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom for allegedly establishing a terrorist cell.
Bahrain's Mirror news site reported on Monday that the court revoked the citizenship of 13 Bahrianis after sentencing each to 10 to 15 years in jail.
The report added most activists opposed to the Al Khalifa regime are convicted by Bahraini courts for establishing terrorist groups.
The defense lawyer, Mohammad al-Tajer, said the court had “illegally” revoked the citizenship of his clients.
He said “There was no mention of citizenship revocation in the court’ sentences,” adding “The revocation of my clients’ citizenship was told to me by phone.”
According to the report, 238 Bahrainis have been stripped of their citizenship since the start of an uprising in the country.
In April, the UK-based rights organization, Amnesty International, published a report entitled “Behind the rhetoric: Human rights abuses in Bahrain continue unabated.”
In the report, the group slammed Manama’s brutal actions against its population, including, resorting to torture, arbitrary detentions, and the excessive use of force against peaceful opposition.
source : irib
