VZCZCXYZ0003
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKH #1767 3171232
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131232Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 9150

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001767 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AF/SPG, DS/IP/AF, and DS/OPO/FPD 
 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KDEM SCUL ASEC SU
SUBJECT:  VERDICT REACHED IN TRIAL OF MURDERED SUDANESE JOURNALIST 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) On November 10 a Khartoum criminal court convicted ten 
individuals in the 2006 murder of prominent Sudanese journalist 
Mohamed Taha Mohamed Ahmed, including a U.S. Embassy local guard. 
While most press reports indicated that the convicted men were all 
from the troubled Darfur region, an Embassy investigator told poloff 
that they came from various regions and tribes. The presiding judge 
sentenced the ten men to death by hanging; the defense team has said 
that it will appeal the verdict. 
 
¶2. (SBU) During the investigation and subsequent trial, local 
Embassy investigators and guards presented statements to the court 
on behalf of the detained employee (who is from the Fur tribe), who 
was on duty at the time the crime allegedly took place. The employee 
told Embassy investigators that he had been instructed by his 
arrestors to confess, and to claim that he had used an Embassy 
vehicle during the crime (which he refused to do, telling them that 
guards were not permitted to drive Embassy vehicles). Amnesty 
International and the United Nations Mission in Sudan have reported 
that the detainees were tortured in order to extract confessions. 
 
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BACKGROUND 
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¶3. (SBU) On September 5, 2006 masked assailants kidnapped Mohamed 
Taha, the editor-in-chief of 'Al Wafaq,' from his home in Khartoum; 
his decapitated body was found the following day south of the city. 
The murder shocked the country, drawing parallels to Al Qaeda 
killings in Iraq. The editor had faced criminal charges in May 2005 
after republishing an article regarding the origins of the Prophet 
Mohamed and a court had ordered 'Al Wafaq' to suspend publication 
for three months. The editor had also angered many Darfuris after 
publishing articles criticizing the morals of Darfuri women. 
Following the editor's murder, a Khartoum court barred newspapers 
from reporting on the criminal investigation; this ban continued 
throughout the trial, as well. 
 
¶4. (SBU) More than 70 people were detained during the five month 
investigation, mostly of Darfuri origin. According to the United 
Nations Mission in Sudan, several were forced to claim affiliation 
with Darfur rebel groups. Nineteen individuals, including two women, 
were ultimately charged in connection with the murder. The trial 
opened in Khartoum on February 21. In August, nine of the defendants 
were acquitted for lack of evidence. Defense lawyers pleaded not 
guilty for the remaining 10 defendants. 
 
FERNANDEZ