SUDAN: SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS DEATH PENALTY FOR SPLM-N LEADERS

January 14, 2015: the National Supreme Court in Khartoum upheld the verdicts of the Blue Nile Criminal Court concerning 63 leaders and members of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N). The sentence of one rebel leader was changed from life imprisonment to the death penalty.
The Supreme Court confirmed the death penalty, issued in absentia for 17 rebel leaders, among them Malik Agar, chairman of the movement and former elected governor of Blue Nile state, and Yasir Arman, SPLM-N Secretary-General.
The verdict of the Court of Appeal with regard to SPLM-N leader Minallah Hussein Hady was changed from life imprisonment to the death penalty. He is the only one sentenced to death who was arrested, and is currently held at Kober prison in Khartoum North.
The court also upheld the life imprisonment sentences for 46 SPLM-N members.
On 5 August, the Court of Appeal in Sinja, eastern Sudan, upheld the death penalties in absentia for the 17 SPLM-N leaders. 52 SPLM-N members were convicted so far, and 69 were acquitted. (Sources: Radio Dabanga, 14/01/2015)