The United States have said on Thursday it was "deeply disappointed" by a Bahrain court verdict which failed to strike down sentences against medics over their role in last year's pro-democracy uprising.

The court in the Gulf Arab state, an important US ally that hosts Washington's Fifth Fleet, reduced sentences against nine medical professionals and acquitted nine others - but rights groups also criticised the rulings, with Amnesty International saying it was a "dark day for justice".

"While sentences were reduced, we are deeply disappointed by these convictions and that the Bahraini government did not use alternative means to address these cases," visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Michael Posner told a press conference.

[Source: Reuters]