Bahrain Jails Three Shiites, Strips Them of Nationality

A court jailed three Bahraini Shiites on Thursday and stripped them of their nationality for planning an attack against the police in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, a judicial source said.

The men were jailed for 10 years each for having planned an attack with explosives on policemen in August 2013, the source said.

Hundreds of Shiites have been arrested and faced trial in Bahrain since a month-long uprising calling for democratic reform was quelled in March 2011.

Bahrain last year adopted a law stipulating that suspects convicted of "terrorist" acts could be stripped of their nationality, a decision that has triggered condemnation by rights groups.

Dozens of Shiites have had their citizenship revoked since the law came into effect, and several have also been deported on charges of "undermining state security".

The latest verdicts come as Bahrain -- a Sunni-ruled kingdom with a Shiite majority, prepares to hold elections on Saturday, with the opposition boycotting the polls.

The Shiite-led opposition is demanding a "real" constitutional monarchy with an elected prime minister who is independent from the ruling royal family.

The tiny but strategic kingdom, just across the Gulf from Iran and home base for the U.S. Fifth Fleet, remains deeply divided nearly four years after authorities crushed the uprising.

Protests in Shiite villages around the capital still spark frequent clashes with police.