A new report on the human rights situation in Bahrain shows that authorities committed more than 130 cases of abuse against imprisoned anti-regime activists and political dissidents last December as the ruling Al Khalifah regime presses ahead with its heavy-handed clampdown on pro-democracy campaigners in the Persian Gulf kingdom.

Bahrain's highest court has upheld life sentences against three opposition leaders, including top cleric Sheikh Ali Salman, on charges of spying for Qatar, a judicial source said Monday.