Sudanese court sentences 27 security officials to death

Dec. 30 (UPI) -- A Sudanese court sentenced 27 members of the country's security forces to death for torturing and killing a teacher who was taken into custody during mass protests.

Those convicted were part of security forces in Kassala, a state in eastern Sudan where Ahmed al-Khair was arrested early this year before being tortured and killed. Al-Khair's death intensified protests that led the Sudan Army to remove Omar al-Bashir as the country's leader in April.

Four other security forces members received prison terms from life to three years.

"[The ruling] sends a message to the other martyrs of the revolution and their families that we are intent on getting our lost rights back," Itimad al-Mujamar, a representative of the Sudanese teacher's union, said as the country works to emerge from more than a decade of military rule.

A court sentenced al-Bashir to two years in a rehabilitation facility after convicting him weeks earlier for money laundering. He led Sudan for almost three decades but was removed in April after protests leading military commanders to turn against him.

The International Criminal Court also wants to try al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur.