N'DJAMENA, Chad, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Following a three-day trial, Chad sentenced ten members of the Islamic militant group Boko Haram to death on Friday.
The ten individuals were convicted of participating in two attacks on Chad's capital of N'Djamena during the summer. On June 15, militants destroyed a school and a police buildings while killing 38 individuals and wounding more than a hundred others. A July attack took 15 lives.
Prosecutor Bruno Mahouli said the men were found guilty of criminal conspiracy, killing, destruction with explosives, fraud, illegal possession of guns and the use of psychotropic substances.
Among the convicted are Mahamat Mustapha, also known as Bana Fanaye, who is considered the leader of the attacks.
The trial was held behind closed doors. Originally scheduled to last eight days, it was expedited due to security reasons.
The attack marked the first of its kind by the group. Chad is where the headquarters of a regional force combating Boko Haram is located. The country has also been of help to Nigeria in reclaiming territory taken by the group.
The sentence follows the reinstating of the death penalty for acts of terror in Chad. Civil rights groups have opposed this change, arguing that it could encroach on civil rights.
Boko Haram is composed of jihadists who seek to create their own Islamic caliphate in Nigeria. They have murdered thousands of people and forced millions to leave their homes in northeast Nigeria since 2009.
