A Bahrain court yesterday sentenced a man to death and jailed six others for life after they were convicted of killing a policeman a year ago.
Two others were sentenced to five and six years in prison on similar charges.
The officer, Mohamed Atef, died on February 14, 2013, after he was hit by a petrol bomb during clashes with Shiite protesters in a village near the capital.
In addition to killing the policeman, the nine defendants were also convicted of taking part in an “unlicensed protest”.
Death sentences are usually commuted to life imprisonment, 25 years, in the kingdom.
Scores of Shiites have been tried over violence in Bahrain that erupted during protests in mid-February 2011.
Last year the authorities increased the penalties for those convicted of violence, introducing the death penalty or life sentences in cases which resulted in deaths or injuries.
A policeman was killed in similar circumstances on February 14 this year during protests marking the third anniversary of the start of the unrest.
On Sunday, a Bahrain court handed down 15-year jail terms to two people convicted of trying to kill police officers.
* Agence France-Presse
