An appeals court in Bahrain has upheld the convictions of 20 activists on allegations of plotting to overthrow the U.S.-backed regime. The activists were sentenced by a military court last year, eight of them to life behind bars. The ruling comes days after tens of thousands of people rallied against the monarchy in the country’s first authorized demonstration in over a month. Protesters held up the pictures of a number of jailed Bahraini activists, including the Bahrain Center for Human Rights’ Nabeel Rajab, recently sentenced to three years in prison.