[Al Ahram] Sixteen people accused in Sudan of attacks on cop shoppes during protests sparked by high fuel prices were placed in durance vileDon't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
far from the scene of the crimes, witnesses told a trial on Tuesday.
The 16 are among hundreds jugged
You have the right to remain silent...
in a crackdown after the government cut fuel subsidies on 23 September, sending thousands into the streets to protest in the worst urban unrest of President Omar Al-Bashir's 24-year rule.
Thirty-five people initially appeared before a judge in Khartoum's impoverished Haj Yusef district on charges of vandalism and causing a disturbance.
A judge acquitted 19 for lack of evidence but 16 others, including eight youths under the age of 17, were still on trial, said Mutasim Al-Haj, one of their lawyers.
Twelve witnesses testified for the defence on Tuesday, he said.
"They said these people were not arrested during a demonstration. Nor were they arrested during the stoning or burning of cop shoppes," Haj said.
They were picked up "far away" from the alleged scene of the crimes, according to defence testimony, the lawyer added.