International science circles are deploring an Italian court's decision to sentence scientists to imprisonment for failing to precisely predict a 2009 earthquake in the city of L'Aquila, central Italy.

Six scientists and one government official were convicted of manslaughter for failing to adequately warn against the 2009 massive earthquake in a trial on Monday, local time.

The seven are all members of Italy’s "National Commission for the Forecast and Prevention of Major Risks." In early 2009, they held a meeting on tremors that continued in L'Aquila but concluded that the chance of the city getting hit by a massive earthquake was low.

But several days later, a six-point-three magnitude earthquake jolted the central Italian city, killing 300 people. Italian prosecutors indicted the scientists and government official on charges of manslaughter and neglecting their duty to warn people against earthquakes.

But seismologists are criticizing the court decision, saying that the accurate prediction of an earthquake is basically impossible and the seven people were unfairly victimized.