Sudanese protesters march during a demonstration in the capital Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2019 |
CAIRO,
Egypt
A court
in Sudan on Monday sentenced 27 members of the country's security forces to
death for torturing and killing a detained protester during the uprising
against Sudan's longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir earlier this year.
The
death of protester Ahmed al-Khair, a school teacher, while in detention in
February was a key point -- and a symbol -- in the uprising that eventually led
to the military's ouster of al-Bashir. Monday's convictions and sentences,
which can be appealed, were the first connected to the killings of protesters
in the revolt.
Last
December, the first rally was held in Sudan to protest the soaring cost of
bread, marking the beginning of a pro-democracy movement that convulsed the
large African country. That led, in April, to the toppling by the military of
al-Bashir, and ultimately to the creation of a joint military-civilian
Sovereign Council that has committed to rebuilding the country and promises
elections in three years.
The anniversary of that protest
this month drew teeming crowds to the streets in several cities and towns
across the country, with people singing, dancing and carrying flags. A train
packed with exuberant demonstrators, clapping and chanting, arrived in the
northern city of Atbara, the birthplace of the uprising, from the capital,
Khartoum.
Monday's
verdict in the trial of the security forces took place in a court in Omdurman,
Khartoum's twin city, where dozens of protesters had gathered outside the
courtroom, demanding justice for al-Khair.
Al-Khair
was detained on Jan. 31 in the eastern province of Kassala and was reported
dead two days later. His body was taken to a local hospital where his family
said it was covered in bruises. At the time, police denied any police
wrongdoing and blamed his death on an "illness," without providing
any details.
The
court, however, said on Monday that the teacher was beaten and tortured while
in detention. The 27 sentenced were policemen who were working in the jail
where al-Khair was held or intelligence agents in the region.
Also
this month, a court in Khartoum convicted al-Bashir of money laundering and
corruption, sentencing him to two years in a minimum security lockup. The image
of the former dictator in a defendant's cage sent a strong message, on live TV
for all of Sudan.
The
deposed ruler is under indictment by the International Criminal Court on far
more serious charges of war crimes and genocide linked to his brutal
suppression of the insurgency in the western province of Darfur in the early
2000s. The military has refused to extradite him to stand trial in The Hague.
Amnesty
International and other rights groups have called on the new government to hold
security forces accountable for killing scores of people in their efforts to
stifle protests against military rule, especially those behind a deadly
crackdown on a huge sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum last
June.
Since
last December, nearly 200 protesters have been killed in Sudan. The government
recently appointed independent judges to oversee investigations into the
killings, a major achievement for the protest movement.
Sudan
is under heavy international and regional pressure to reform. With the economy
on the brink, the new government has made it a mission to get Sudan removed
from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism so that it can attract badly
needed foreign aid.
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