VERDICT REACHED IN TRIAL OF MURDERED SUDANESE JOURNALIST

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001767 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR AF/SPG, DS/IP/AF, and DS/OPO/FPD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV KDEM SCUL ASEC SU SUBJECT: VERDICT REACHED IN TRIAL OF MURDERED SUDANESE JOURNALIST ¶1. (SBU) On November 10 a Khartoum criminal court convicted ten individuals in the 2006 murder of prominent Sudanese journalist Mohamed Taha Mohamed Ahmed, including a U.S. Embassy local guard. While most press reports indicated that the convicted men were all from the troubled Darfur region, an Embassy investigator told poloff that they came from various regions and tribes. The presiding judge sentenced the ten men to death by hanging; the defense team has said that it will appeal the verdict. ¶2. (SBU) During the investigation and subsequent trial, local Embassy investigators and guards presented statements to the court on behalf of the detained employee (who is from the Fur tribe),who was on duty at the time the crime allegedly took place. The employee told Embassy investigators that he had been instructed by his arrestors to confess, and to claim that he had used an Embassy vehicle during the crime (which he refused to do, telling them that guards were not permitted to drive Embassy vehicles). Amnesty International and the United Nations Mission in Sudan have reported that the detainees were tortured in order to extract confessions. -------------- BACKGROUND -------------- ¶3. (SBU) On September 5, 2006 masked assailants kidnapped Mohamed Taha, the editor-in-chief of 'Al Wafaq,' from his home in Khartoum; his decapitated body was found the following day south of the city. The murder shocked the country, drawing parallels to Al Qaeda killings in Iraq. The editor had faced criminal charges in May 2005 after republishing an article regarding the origins of the Prophet Mohamed and a court had ordered 'Al Wafaq' to suspend publication for three months. The editor had also angered many Darfuris after publishing articles criticizing the morals of Darfuri women. Following the editor's murder, a Khartoum court barred newspapers from reporting on the criminal investigation; this ban continued throughout the trial, as well. ¶4. (SBU) More than 70 people were detained during the five month investigation, mostly of Darfuri origin. According to the United Nations Mission in Sudan, several were forced to claim affiliation with Darfur rebel groups. Nineteen individuals, including two women, were ultimately charged in connection with the murder. The trial opened in Khartoum on February 21. In August, nine of the defendants were acquitted for lack of evidence. Defense lawyers pleaded not guilty for the remaining 10 defendants. FERNANDEZ