KHARTOUM (Reuters) – The trial for four Sudanese protesters accused of killing a police officer earlier this year began in Khartoum on Sunday, amid anti-military demonstrators and heavy police presence.
The four men, accused of the fatal stabbing of a police brigadier-general in January, were seen by a Reuters witness entering the courtroom in Khartoum, raising their fists and making victory signs.
The four men, who have become emblems of the anti-military protest movement, deny the charges.
Families of the men and lawyers representing them have accused authorities of torturing at least one of the men, known by his nickname Tupac.
Lawyer Abdelazim Hassan, part of the legal team representing the men, said the judge hearing the case ordered that the men undergo a medical examination.
Sudanese military leaders have said that the men are subject to normal criminal procedures.
Outside the courtroom protesters chanted: “Tupac is not a killer,” and “Burhan is a killer,” referring to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan who led an October coup.
The coup ended a two-year power-sharing arrangement between the military and civilian groups following the ouster of Omar al-Bashir. Since then there have been weekly mass protests against the coup.
Two protesters were killed on Saturday by security forces during protests in the al-Kalakla neighbourhood on the outskirts of Khartoum, medics said, bringing the number of people who have died in the protests to 98.
“We will not be ruled through fabricated charges, and we will not be ruled by murder,” said Hamza, a protester at the
courthouse.
(Reporting by Eltayib Siddig and Khalid Abdelaziz, writing by Nafisa Eltahir. Editing by Jane Merriman)
