Bahrain rights group says 13 convicted over prison sit-in that authorities say was violent

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Bahrain has sentenced 13 prisoners to an additional three years in prison over a sit-in held in 2021 that prison authorities say was violent. The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy said Wednesday that the convictions issued the day before stemmed from a mass trial of 65 defendants, the rest of whom were acquitted. It says defendants were denied the right to attend the trial or meet with their lawyer. It also publicized what it said were first-hand accounts in which the prisoners alleged they were beaten with metal objects and tear-gas cannisters. Bahrain’s prison authority denied the allegations, saying prisoners’ rights are upheld. It said inmates taking part in the sit-in had attacked and wounded guards.