The same court sentenced 20 Shiite medics to between five and 15 years in prison for their roles in a Shiite-led month-long protest which authorities quashed in mid March.

Ali Yusof al-Taweel was sentenced to death and Ali Mahdi to life in prison for killing policeman Ahmed al-Mreyssi in the Shiite area of Sitra, south of Manama, during unrest that followed the quashing of the Shiite-led protest, BNA said, quoting miliary general prosecutor Yusof Flaifel.

Thirteen medics were sentenced to 15 years in jail, two others to 10 years, and another five to five years, including several women, he added.

The medics all worked at the Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) in Manama, which was stormed by security forces after they drove protesters out of the nearby Pearl Square (showed in image) – the focal point of protests inspired by uprisings that have swept the Arab world.

BNA said the medics were tried for "forcefully occupying SMC...possessing unlicensed arms (AK-47s) and knives, incitement to overthrow the regime, seizing medical equipment, detaining policemen, and spreading false news."

They were also accused of "inciting hatred towards the regime and insulting it, instigating hatred against another sect and obstructing the implementation of law, destroying public property and taking part in gatherings aimed at jeopardising the general security and committing crimes," BNA said.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011