Eight men were arrested by Bahrain’s coast guard, as they were attempting to escape to Iran by boat, according to state news agency BNA.

Bahrain’s official agency said two other men it described as “fugitives” had also prearranged the escape from Iran.
The eight men had already been convicted now – in absentia – and consequently sentenced to between 10 to 15 years in prison, BNA said.

There are a total of 17 people convicted on unspecified charges who had escaped Bahrain’s Dry Dock Detention Center on Friday, with 11 being recaptured.

Thousands of mainly Shi’ite Muslim Bahrainis are in jail on charges ranging from participating in anti-government protests to armed attacks on security forces in the Western-allied Gulf kingdom, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is based.