Trial of Sudan teenagers accused of killing senior policeman begins

The trial of Mohamed Adam (17) nicknamed ‘Tupac', and Mohamed El Fateh (18), nicknamed 'El Nana', and Musab El Shareef, who have been detained since January 14 on suspicion of killing a police officer, started yesterday.

The Khartoum court presided over by Judge Zuheyr Babiker, agreed to the defence’s requests to lift the restrictions on the accused, allowing lawyers to view the investigation report and meet their clients, in addition to forming a medical committee to review the torture they were subjected to, whilst detained.

The court was imposed heavy security measures whilst proceedings were underway, due to crowds that had gathered in support of the accused.

Upon their arrival to court, Adam and his companions, raised the the victory sign, while the audience chanted slogans affirming Tubak’s innocence and bravery.

A noticeable presence of the accused’s family was in attendance in court, alongside activists, and resistance committee members.

Lawyer Eman Hasan Abdelrahim, head of the defence team, told Radio Dabanga that the court was adjourned to June 12, due to the absence of the first detective.

Torture and detention  

In a statement published on February 28, Amnesty International wrote that "there are credible concerns the youths were abducted and held without charge, in violation of their due process rights, and subjected to torture while in detention".

Adam's mother reported that she saw that two nails had been hammered into his legs, which had also been beaten whilst still injured from the gunshot wounds sustained at the protests. These injuries have left him unable to walk, Amnesty reported.

For the first three weeks after their detention in mid-January, they were held incommunicado without access to their families, lawyer, or a doctor. Throughout their detention, both activists were subjected to torture.

Adam was detained whilst he was in the hospital for treatment after he sustained two gunshot wounds in his leg during the January 13 Marches of the Millions.

'The two were questioned about the sources of funding behind the protests and about members of resistance committees, but not about the police brigadier they were accused of stabbing'.

In January, lawyer Eman Hasan told Radio Dabanga that the two detainees were questioned about the sources of funding behind the protests and about members of resistance committees, but not about the police brigadier they were accused of stabbing. In February, he was transferred to another prison in the capital, where his mother Nidal was finally allowed to see him.

Adam’s lawyers and rights groups say that is where he was tortured and interrogated about the protest movement for three weeks, before eventually giving a false confession. He was suspended from his feet. He was subjected to continuous beatings, and he was deprived of water. The plaster was removed from his broken leg without medical supervision.

He suffered from swellings in the nose and behind the ear due to being hit with rifle butts. He was previously unable to stand on his feet, the lawyer reported. Mohamed El Fateh 'El Nana' (18) sustained injuries to his back as a result of torture.

Hasan noted that the "systematic torture of the accused" continued even after their "judicial confessions".

The defence team submitted a request to disqualify the prosecution because of the invalidity of the procedures and the lack of direct evidence.