Bahrain strips 9 of citizenship amid wide crackdown

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A court in the Arab Gulf state of Bahrain has revoked the nationality of nine people and sentenced them to between three and 15 years in jail, amid a yearslong crackdown on dissent.

This year, more than 200 people have been stripped of their nationality, including 115 in a mass terrorism trial last week.

Bahrain’s state-run news agency said Monday the nine were accused of establishing a terrorist group, illegally possessing weapons and ammunition, and shooting at policemen in 2016 with homemade firearms. Two of the suspects remain at large.

The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy says 728 people have been stripped of their nationality since 2012, after the Sunni-led monarchy led a crackdown against protests by majority Shiites.