The verdict, which can be appealed, was the first connected to the killing of more than 200 pro-democracy protesters since the demonstrations began last December
“We are now sure our revolution is continuing on the right path,” said protester Amna Mohammed. She was among a cheering crowd of hundreds that gathered to welcome the verdict’s announcement outside the court in Omdurman, the capital Khartoum’s twin city.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 convulsed the large African country.
Mohammed al-Feki Soliman, a member of the Sovereign Council, said the trial “renews the Sudanese people’s trust in their judicial institutions.” The court also sentenced three other members of the security forces to three years each in prison, and acquitted seven suspects in the case. All the sentenced were policemen who were working in the jail where al-Khair was held or intelligence agents in the region.Following a tradition based on Islamic law, or Sharia, the court gave al-Khair’s family the opportunity to “forgive” the suspects, which could have led to their pardon, but the offer was declined.
However, 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. Al-Bashir is now awaiting a separate trial, on charges of involvement in the killing of protesters in the months prior to his ouster.
The Sudanese government is expected to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. That would require it to cut food and fuel subsidies and further devalue the local currency, said the IMF’s Daniel Kanda after a visit to Khartoum earlier this month. Sudanese Information Minister Faisal Saleh said the government decided to postpone cutting subsidies until an economic conference the country plans to hold in March.
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