ZCZC
BFF-48
SUDAN-UNREST-POLITICS-TRIAL-VERDICT
Sudan court finds student ‘not guilty’ of killing policeman
KHARTOUM, Jan 22, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A Sudanese student sentenced to death
for the 2016 killing of a policeman was declared “not guilty” at his re-trial
Tuesday, his political party and Amnesty International said.
Asim Omer was arrested in December 2016 and charged with killing a
policeman earlier that year after hundreds of students clashed with security
forces at the campus of Khartoum University.
In September 2016 a court found him guilty and sentenced him to death.
Omer appealed the verdict and the appeals court ordered a retrial.
On Tuesday, a Khartoum court declared him “not guilty,” the opposition
Sudanese Congress Party of which Omer is a member said in a statement.
Rights group Amnesty International welcomed “not guilty” verdict but
demanded an investigation into allegations he was “tortured in prison”.
“Though Asim has been acquitted, justice can only truly be done once the
officials responsible for his ill-treatment are held to account,” said
Amnesty’s Joan Nyanyuki.
Students at Khartoum University had demonstrated several times in 2016
against an alleged plan to sell off buildings belonging to the institution.
The government had denied these allegations, and police often resorted to
firing tear gas.
BSS/AFP/MRI/2310 HRS