Sudan sentences 29 to death over protester’s death in custody

A court in Sudan has sentenced 29 members of the country’s intelligence service to death for their involvement in the fatal torture of a detained protester during the government’s deadly crackdown against protest earlier this year.

According to the reports, the defendants were sentenced to death by hanging on Monday, over the deadly abuse against Ahmed al-Kheir at an intelligence services facility in the eastern state of Kassala.

The 36-year-old teacher died in early February two days after being arrested for taking part in weeks of protests against the rule of longtime president Omar al-Bashir.

According to his family, security officials initially claimed he had died of poisoning, though days later, a state investigation found he had died of injuries from beating.

Another protester dies while celebrating court ruling

The ruling was welcomed by hundreds of people who gathered outside the court in Omdurman, where the verdict was delivered.

People were celebrating the ruling outside the court when security forces fired tear gas and caused the death of a woman who suffered from asthma, doctors said.

The trial, which is the first to deliver sentences over the crackdown on this year’s protests, restored confidence in the judiciary, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) said.

Thirteen people were also sentenced to prison terms and a further four were acquitted in the ruling, which could face several stages of appeal.

At least 170 people were killed during a crackdown against demonstrations, which eventually led to the ouster of Bashir in April — 30 years after he took power in a coup.

SS