/ 11 February 1999

SUDANESE ARMY CAN TRY CIVILIANS

SUDANESE civilians may be tried by military courts for crimes involving firearms, explosives, espionage, and military secrets, a source cited by the official Suna news agency said in Khartoum on Thursday. “If the army commander-in-chief and state prosecutor agree, civilians suspected of these crimes may be judged by the armed forces tribunal, responsible for the national interest and its citizens’ security,” the military source said. It added those convicted could ask for a retrial by a military appeals court, which then must submit its verdict to the Sudanese president.