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Sudan Judge Acquits 19 Protest Accused
[An Nahar] A Sudanese judge on Sunday threw out charges against 19 people who were among hundreds rounded up after deadly protests sparked by fuel price hikes, a lawyer said.The judge said he found "no evidence against them", one of their lawyers, Mutasim al-Haj, told Agence La Belle France Presse. They were among 35 people who appeared in Khartoum's Haj Yusef district to face charges of vandalism and causing a disturbance. Trials are to continue for the other 16 with defense testimony on Monday, Haj said. One police pickup truck was the only noticeable security presence outside the colonnaded, glass-fronted court building which lies opposite mud-brick homes on an unpaved road of red dirt in the impoverished district. The 35 first appeared in court last Thursday, when Haj told AFP that none of the accused was tossed in the clink Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! during the alleged vandalism or demonstrations. They faced up to seven years in prison if found guilty, he said. Sudan's government says it has tossed in the clink Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! about 700 "criminals" after the late-September protests. The African Center for Justice and Peace Studies, a human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... watchdog, said on Saturday that more than 800 people have been arrested throughout the country by police and the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS). Prisoners included political activists, opposition party members and human rights defenders, the watchdog said, adding the exact number of detentions is unknown. "The majority of detainees are in NISS custody and have not been charged with any criminal offense," the African Center for Justice and Peace Studies said. Security forces were believed to have killed more than 200 protesters, many of whom were shot in the head or chest, said another watchdog, Among the casualties was a 14-year-old boy, rights groups say. Posted by: Fred 2013-10-07 |
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