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September 5, 2012

Opposition, Human Rights Groups Condemn Bahraini Sentences 
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Human rights and Bahraini opposition groups are denouncing the
U.S.-backed monarchy in Bahrain for upholding the convictions of 20
activists on allegations of plotting to overthrow the U.S.-backed
regime. The activists were sentenced by a military court last year,
eight of them to life behind bars. In a statement, a coalition of
Bahraini opposition and Shiite groups said: "There is no state in
Bahrain. It is a tyrannical authority, and an oppressive government that
tries to look like a (political) system while hiding security
apparatuses that terrorize the people to silence demands for democracy."
Amnesty International meanwhile denounced the verdicts as "outrageous,"
and called for them to be "overturned and the activists immediately and
unconditionally released."