A court in Bahrain has handed long jail terms to 14 opposition protesters, as the Al Khalifa regime continues its crackdown on the dissidents.

The young demonstrators from the northwestern village of Bani Jamra, which is located near the capital Manama, were given jail sentences between 10 and 15 years.

On December 30, 2013, another court in Bahrain sentenced five anti-regime protesters to 15 years in prison. The men were accused by the regime of being behind two bomb attacks, including one during the 2012 Formula 1 race.

According to Bahraini human rights activists, the regime in the Persian Gulf monarchy arrested at least 180 opposition demonstrators in December alone.

The rights activists also say the Al Khalifa regime has resorted to torture, imprisonment and arrests in its violent crackdown on the country’s pro-democracy protesters.

Bahrainis have been staging demonstrations since mid-February 2011, calling for political reforms and a constitutional monarchy, a demand that later changed to an outright call for the ouster of the ruling Al Khalifa family following its brutal crackdown on popular protests.

In October 2013, Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa, said, “The [Bahraini] authorities simply slap the label ‘terrorist’ on defendants and then subject them to all manner of violations to end up with a ‘confession’.”

MR/AB