"It’s appalling what passes for ‘justice’ today in Bahrain," Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa director Philip Luther said on Monday. The court sentenced the activists on Sunday, including a prominent Shia Iraqi cleric who was sentenced for forming a secret opposition group.

The activists were charged with allegedly organizing the ‘February 14 Revolution Youth Coalition’ and trying to topple the country’s constitutional monarchy by organizing bombings and inciting anti-government rallies.