A Bahraini court sentenced 69 people to life in prison and revoked the citizenship of 138 defendants on terrorism-related charges, the public prosecutor said Tuesday, in one of the largest mass trials ever held in the country. It also marked the single largest revocation of citizenship in Bahrain, a small island-nation off the eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula that hosts the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. The public prosecutor's office said 70 defendants in Tuesday's case were sentenced to between three years and 10 years imprisonment. Close to 100 suspects were fined roughly $265,000 each. The defendants, of which 109 are in custody and 60 were tried in absentia, can appeal. Charges against the group include forming a terrorist cell inside Bahrain with help from Iran, launching terrorist attacks, and training and using weapons and explosives. The group was labeled as "Hezbollah Bahrain.'' *This story was edited by Ahram Online.
