Bahrain Mirror (AFP): A Bahraini appeals court has upheld life prison sentences against five Shi'ite men convicted of spying for Iran.

A May 29 statement by the prosecution said the court rejected the appeal by the five defendants.

The men were convicted in November of "spying for and seeking with Iran and its agents to carry out hostile acts against the kingdom."

They were found guilty of working with Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp to carry out attacks in Bahrain against "public and financial institutions."

The small Gulf nation has witnessed unrest since the government cracked down on a Shi'ite-led uprising demanding reforms in 2011.

The Shi'ite-majority kingdom, ruled by the Sunni minority, lies across the Persian Gulf from Iran and is home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet.