Italy's foreign minister Angelino Alfano on Monday praised Bahrein's king Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa for commuting the death sentences handed by a military court to four men who were convicted of terrorism charges.
The king of Bahrein's decision to commute to life imprisonment the sentences handed to four people who were given the death penalty is commendable," Alfano said in a statement.
"Italy supports the abolition of capital punishment in the world and is at the front-line of an international campaign for a global moratorium on the death penalty," Alfano said.
Bin Isa al-Khalifa last Thursday commuted the four death sentences, which were the first to be issued by a military court in the Gulf Arab state against civilians, according to activists.
A military court in Bahrein sentenced six men to death and revoked their citizenship after they were convicted on charges of forming a terrorist cell and plotting to assassinate a military official.
Two of the men were listed as having fled to Iran and were tried in absentia.
