UK-based Bahraini activist's family sentenced to prison
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A U.K.-based Bahraini activist says three members of his family have been sentenced to three years in prison each in reprisal for his efforts to shine a spotlight on the government's crackdown on opposition and rights groups.
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, says his 49-year-old mother-in-law, 18-year-old brother-in-law and a 30-year-old cousin were sentenced on Monday on charges they planted a "fake bomb" in January 2017.
Alwadaei's statement says they have been detained since March and questioned extensively about his work in the United Kingdom.
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He says Bahrain's government is targeting his family because of his work in exposing the "government's horrific rights abuses."
Bahrain's Sunni-led monarchy has moved to suppress opposition from its majority Shiite population after widespread protests in 2011.