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[27 November 2007] - The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT), a member of the SOS-Torture network, about the death sentences handed down to ten individuals, including a 16-year-old boy, by the Khartoum Criminal Court on 10 November 2007 in connection with the murder of journalist Mohamed Taha Mohamed Ahmed. According to the defence lawyer in the case, Mr. Kamal Omer, the ruling was based on confessions extrated under torture. According to the same information, the ten individuals were among dozens of Darfuris, including women and children, who were detained after the discovery on 6 September 2006 of the beheaded body of Mr. Mohamed Taha Mohamed Ahmed, the publisher and editor of al-Wifaq newspaper who had reportedly angered Islamists by questioning the lineage of the Prophet Muhammad and had also reportedly criticised Darfuri armed movements and questioned the stories of sexual violence against Darfuri women. Nearly all of the 73 people detained in connection with the case were allegedly tortured in custody by members of the police, intelligence and security services. Most were eventually reportedly released. Only nine who faced trial were acquitted on the grounds that the case against them was based on confessions extracted under duress. While the International Secretariat of OMCT welcomes the acquittal of these nine individuals and that the court applied international rules, which state that any statement which is established to have been made as result of torture shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings, it remains very much concerned about the sentences of the remaining ten above mentioned individuals. Indeed, the International Secretariat of OMCT expresses its grave concern about the inhuman consequences of the judgement. OMCT is particularly concerned that the sentences are allegedly based on confessions extracted under torture. Sudan is a State party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which prohibits cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. In line with their obligations under this treaty, it is incumbent on the Sudanese authorities to consider seriously any allegations of torture and ill-treatment made by the victim, and to undertake a thorough investigation in this regard. Sudan has also ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Article 37 forbids the imposition of "capital punishment (...) for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age (...)". Further information