A Sudanese court has sentenced 27 members of the national intelligence service to death over the killing of a teacher in detention in February this year.
The 27 sentenced are policemen who were working in the jail where the teacher was held.
The teacher was killed in detention during protests that led to the overthrow of former president Omar al-Bashir.
This is the first major sentencing by the courts over the several crackdowns on demonstrations that took place before and Bashir overthrow.
Ahmed al-Khair, the school teacher was seen as a key figure in the uprising that eventually led to the military’s ouster of al-Bashir.
Al-Khair was detained on Jan. 31 in the eastern province of Kassala and was reported dead two days later.
When his body was taken to a local hospital, his family said it was covered in bruises.
The police earlier denied the claims and any wrongdoing and blamed his death on an “illness.”
But the court said on Monday that the teacher was beaten and tortured while in detention.
Nearly 200 protesters were killed in Sudan when citizens launched series of protests to force Omar Al-bashir our of power.
The government recently appointed independent judges to oversee investigations into the killings.
Source: Africafeeds.com
