A Bahraini defense lawyer says a court in the Gulf island nation has sentenced 12 citizens to life imprisonment after finding them guilty of supporting terrorist activities and receiving training from Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
Attorney Sayed Hashim Saleh said today the court convicted them the previous day, and sentenced two others to 15 years in prison. Six of the 12 sentenced to life were convicted in absentia.
Bahrain is located off the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia and hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet. It has faced more than three years of unrest following an uprising dominated by the Shiite majority calling for greater rights from the country's Sunni rulers.
The government has accused Shiite powerhouse Iran of stoking the unrest, which has included occasional violent attacks.
