Bahrain revokes citizenship of 138 people

A court in Bahrain has convicted 139 people of terrorism offences during a mass trial, revoking the citizenship of all but one, according to an Amnesty International press release.

Along with sentences of between three years and life in prison, the report said that those convicted were “arbitrarily stripped of their citizenship”.

“With these outrageous sentences, Bahrain’s authorities have once again demonstrated their complete disregard for international fair trial standards,” said Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director, Lynn Maalouf.

READ: Bahrain sentences 167 people to prison in crackdown on dissent

“Today’s trial makes a mockery of justice and confirms an alarming pattern of convictions after unfair mass trials in Bahrain.”

Since 2012, Bahraini authorities have stripped around 900 people of their citizenship, rendering them stateless, an action considered illegal under international law.

“Bahrain’s authorities must immediately stop relying on these unlawful measures as punishment,” Maalouf said.

The Amnesty release points to the worrying rise in mass trial convictions in recent years.

Some 167 people were convicted at once for their role in a primarily non-violent protest in February this year. In May last year, 115 people were stripped of their citizenship following another mass trial.