A Bahraini appeals court overturned a decision to strip the citizenship of 92 individuals jailed for plotting to form an Iran-linked "terror" group, AFP reported Sunday (June 30th).
The 92 were among 138 sentenced to prison terms and the revocation of their citizenship after being convicted of trying to build a Bahraini version of Lebanon’s Hizbullah.
"The appeals court overturned the decision to strip the 92 people of their citizenship," a judicial source said. "But their prison terms remain the same."
The Court of Cassation, Bahrain's highest court, will issue a final verdict, but the timing of that decision is not known.
In April's original court ruling, the prosecutor said 69 defendants were sentenced to life in jail, 39 to 10 years, 23 to seven years and the rest to between three and five years imprisonment.
Ninety-six of the defendants also were fined 100,000 Bahraini dinars ($265,000) each.
On Sunday, Bahrain's government announced it had amended its citizenship law for a second time in recent years, saying the amended law allows authorities to strip the citizenship of individuals who engage in any act of "terror".
