SUDAN: DEATH SENTENCE AGAINST DARFUR REBELS

March 20, 2012: A Sudanese court sentenced six members of a key Darfur rebel group to hang after convicting them of terrorism and criminal charges, a lawyer said. A seventh defendant, also from the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), was jailed for 10 years, lawyer Tahani Abdelrahim said.
Abdelrahim said the sentences will be appealed.
JEM spokesman Gibril Adam Bilal condemned the death sentences against its "prisoners of war" and called on the international community to ensure the punishment is not carried out.
More than 100 JEM rebels received the death penalty after the movement staged an unprecedented march to the outskirts of Khartoum's twin city Omdurman in 2008 before being repulsed.
President Omar al-Bashir later remitted many of the sentences. (Sources: AFP, 21/03/2012)