Bahrain's attorney general has ordered a civilian court retrial for 20 medical personnel sentenced to long prison terms as alleged backers of anti-government protests.

A statement released on Wednesday by Bahrain's government appeared to nullify the verdicts issued earlier this week by a special security court against the doctors and nurses, who received sentences ranging from five to 15 years.

Lawyers for the Bahraini medics earlier denounced the convictions, saying they had found that "the most essential elements for a fair trial were not available in this trial".

According to the lawyers, the medics were tried in a military court, despite being civilians.

Al Jazeera's Nadim Baba reports.