A Bahraini court on Sunday sentenced a Shia Muslim to two years in jail for insulting a wife of Prophet Mohammed, Aisha, who is revered by Sunnis, on the Internet.

The criminal court found the unnamed 19-year-old man guilty of "defaming" Aisha, the general prosecution said in a statement, describing the defendant as having "deviated thoughts."

It said the man wrote "phrases that are too dirty and degrading to mention, defaming the mother of the believers, Aisha," and added that a police probe led to his arrest.

Shias make up the majority community in Sunni-ruled Bahrain, where a Shias-led uprising was brutally crushed last year.