Sudan sentences 22 more 'Darfur rebels' to death

2 hours ago

KHARTOUM (AFP) — Sudanese courts on Thursday sentenced another 22 alleged Darfur rebels to death over an unprecedented attack on the capital last May in which more than 222 people were killed.

The sentences from two special courts, set up to try those arrested in a crackdown following the May 10 assault, bring to 30 the number of alleged members of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) condemned to death.

"The court sentenced all the 12 accused to death," said Adam Bakr Hassab, one of the defence lawyers at the special court in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum where the JEM rebels staged their bloody attack over two months ago.

Hassab told AFP that one of those sentenced to death is aged 16, a punishment that would be illegal in Sudan but the judge "thought the suspect lied about his age."

"The judge found them guilty of the charges against them and gave them one week to appeal the decision," he said.

"This is not fair because we are already at the end of the (working) week. Then we have two days' weekend. So we just have five days to appeal against the verdict," he added.

In the other court, in Khartoum North, Judge Osama Osman found 10 men guilty under Sudanese criminal law and counter-terrorism legislation and referred the cases of three suspected rebels to juvenille courts.

"I sentence you to death by hanging and you have the right to appeal this decision within 15 days," he addressed those standing in the dock.

The condemned, aged around 18 to 25 years old, broke out into loud cries of "God is great" and "thanks be to God", waving their arms in the air.

Saleh Balila, one of the defence lawyers, vowed to appeal against the sentences as quickly as possible, but provided no further comment.

Sudan has put on trial dozens of suspects over the May attack, the first time that decades of regional conflict reached the capital.

Defence lawyers argue that the special courts are unconstitutional and do not guarantee their clients' legal rights.

On Tuesday, eight men, all accused of belonging to JEM, were sentenced to death in the first such verdicts over the attack.

Those hauled before the courts have included Abdul Aziz Ashur, senior JEM commander and brother-in-law of overall leader Khalil Ibrahim.

Ashur has not yet been sentenced.

Under Sudanese law, any death sentence must be ratified by both an appeals' court and the high court. Then all death warrants must be signed and approved by President Omar al-Beshir.

The International Criminal Court prosecutor has demanded Beshir's arrest for allegedly ordering his forces to annihilate three ethnic groups in Darfur, masterminding murder, torture, pillaging and using rape to commit genocide

Those three groups include the Masalit, Fur and Zaghawa, which is the tribe from which the majority of JEM members come.

On a visit to Darfur last week, Beshir granted amnesty to 89 juveniles arrested by the Sudanese authorities following the JEM attack.

More than 222 people were killed when rebels thrust more than 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) across the sandy expanse from western Sudan's region of Darfur to Omdurman, just across the River Nile from the presidential palace.

The United Nations says that up to 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million have fled their homes since the conflict in Darfur erupted in February 2003. Sudan says 10,000 have been killed.

The war began when African ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated Khartoum regime and state-backed Arab militias, fighting for resources and power in one of the most remote and deprived places on earth.