The latest convictions followed last week’s death sentence against Shia cleric Nimr Al Nimr, a driving force behind the demonstrations.
A special court in the capital Riyadh issued the latest verdicts “as a deterrent to others,” the Saudi Press Agency said late on Tuesday. A third person was jailed for 12 years.
SPA did not name the accused, who were tried on charges including “participating in marches and rallies that caused riots” in the Eastern Province community of Awamiya.
They were also accused of “chanting slogans hostile to the state with the intent of breaching security and overthrowing the regime,” attacking security forces, and stealing medical supplies from a pharmacy to treat people injured during protests.
Two people had already been sentenced to death in June for “taking part in forming a terrorist group” and other crimes linked to the Shia demonstrations. Several others have received multi-year jail sentences.
Most of Saudi Arabia’s estimated two million Shias live in the east, where the vast majority of the wealthy kingdom’s oil reserves lie. Many Shias complain of marginalisation in the kingdom. They began demonstrating in February 2011 after an outbreak of violence between Shia pilgrims and religious police in Madinah.
