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Sudan court sentences rebels to death for 2008 attack on Khartoum

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] A Sudanese court on Wednesday sentenced 11 members of the Darfur rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) to death by hanging for their involvement in a 2008 attack on Khartoum. Out of seven other defendants tried in the proceedings, five were acquitted and two had their cases transferred to a different court due to mental issues and age. On Tuesday, the rebel group rejected efforts to negotiate with the Sudanese government by citing a failure to cooperate in a recent deal and the recent death sentences handed down to ten other members of the group. In August, a Sudanese court sentenced eight other rebels to death in connection with the same attack. Part of JEM's refusal to cooperate with the Sudanese government is the ousting of humanitarian groups within the country. In March, Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the League of Arab States to urge Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to allow foreign aid agencies back into the country. In November, the Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) sought arrest warrants for Darfur rebel group leaders for attacks unrelated to the 2008 Khartoum attacks. JEM agreed to cooperate but denied that any of their leaders were the subjects of the warrants.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on April 22, 2009 (boomark / email).