Bahrain executed two Shiite citizens by firing squad Saturday on terror charges, amid the kingdom's ongoing crackdown on pro-Iranian groups.

Read more: Bahrain strips 138 people of citizenship for links to elite Iran force

Shiite activists, Ali al-Arab and Ahmed al-Malali, were sentenced to death last year along with 56 other men who were given jail terms on terrorism charges.

On Saturday, a court jailed 19 individuals for life and 37 for up to 15 years for running a terrorist cell used for training militants.

Read more: Bahrain upholds life sentences for opposition leaders

'One of Bahrain's darkest days'

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch had urged the country to halt the executions.

"While in custody the men were tortured by security officers including through electric shocks and beatings. Ali Mohamed al-Arab's toenails were also ripped out," Amnesty International said.

A London-based Bahraini activist rights group, the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), said "the executions mark one of Bahrain's darkest days."

"It appears that the Bahraini government planned this meticulously, timing the executions to coincide with US, EU and UK legislative recesses in order to avoid international scrutiny," BIRD's director Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei said.

US sanctions and who they target Iran US sanctions on Iran target Tehran's trade in gold and precious metals, block the sales of passenger jets and restrict Iran's purchase of US dollars, among other punitive measures. The US has also blocked Iran's key oil sales in a further tranche of sanctions, which came into force in November 2018.

US sanctions and who they target North Korea Impoverished North Korea is under a UN-backed embargo, but Washington also maintains an extensive regime of sanctions of its own. For example, the US strictly bans exporting weapons to the pariah state. Washington also uses its global clout to penalize non-US banks and companies that do business with Pyongyang.

US sanctions and who they target Syria Washington trade restrictions prevent the regime of President Bashar Assad from exporting Syrian oil to the US. All property and assets of the Syrian government in the US have been frozen. Americans, wherever in the world they might be, are banned from "new investment" in the war-torn country, according to the US Treasury.

US sanctions and who they target Russia The US blacklisted scores of high-ranking Russian officials and businessmen after the 2014 Crimea crisis, stopping them from traveling to the US and freezing their assets. The comprehensive sanctions list includes goods from the Russian-annexed region, such as wine. New sanctions imposed in the aftermath of the Skripal poisoning in March 2018 target sensitive national security and defense goods.

US sanctions and who they target Cuba American tourists began flocking to Cuba immediately after the Obama administration initiated a thaw in relations in 2016. Under Donald Trump, however, the White House reimposed travel restrictions for US citizens, making it much harder for Americans to travel to the island. At least one Obama-era concession is still in place, however: it is still legal to bring Cuban cigars and rum to the US. Author: Darko Janjevic



Regional fallout

The country's ruling Sunni minority has faced unrest since it carried out a a bloody crackdown on Arab Spring protests in 2011 with the help of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Bahrain is located in the Persian Gulf and hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet and a British naval base. The executions come amid increasing tensions between the United States and Iran, which Bahrain accuses of training domestic Shiite militias.

US President Donald Trump is applying a "maximum pressure" strategy on Tehran, unilaterally passing stringent economic sanctions with the aim of stopping Iranian oil exports.

Read more: Human Rights Watch: 'Extradition of Hakeem Al-Araibi would be completely unacceptable'

shs/jm (Reuters, dpa, AP)