Bahrain on Sunday executed three Shias convicted of killing three policemen in a 2014 bomb attack, the first such executions in over two decades, drawing condemnation from foreign officials including Shia power Iran. Activists in the Sunni-ruled, Western-allied kingdom reacted with rage, calling it a "black day" and posting images of protesters clashing with police on social media. Reuters was unable to verify the protests.
The move is likely to further poison ties between Bahrain, its ally Saudi Arabia and Iran, which Bahrain accuses of fomenting unrest, including by supplying arms to Shia militants who carried out several bomb attacks on security forces.
Iran, a sharp critic of Bahrain's government, denies links to Bahrain's opposition. It does, however, champion their cause.
The executions happened less than a week after the country's highest court confirmed the punishment against Abbas al-Samea, 27, Sami Mushaima, 42, and Ali al-Singace, 21, found guilty of killing one Emirati and two Bahraini police officers.
Iran called the punishments "reckless".
"Bahrain's government has demonstrated that it does not seek a peaceful resolution and a way out of the crisis," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi, quoted by the official news agency IRNA.
Such executions are rare in the small Gulf island. The last similar case involving a Shia Bahraini occurred in 1996.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a statement that Britain opposes the death penalty and he "raised the issue with the Bahraini Government."
DISCRIMINATION
Bahrain's majority Shia population has for decades accused their rulers of discrimination in matters of jobs, housing and political say.
State news agency BNA said the men were shot and killed in the presence of a judge, doctor and a Muslim cleric.
Social media postings by activists showed demonstrators blocking roads with burning tires and throwing rocks at police who responded with tear gas in several Shia villages.
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