UN Concerned over Death Sentences for Darfur rebels

The UN has expressed concern that Sudan’s recent trials, in which 30 alleged Darfur rebels were sentenced to death, may have fallen short of international standards. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s special representative Ashraf Qazi voiced the concerns Thursday, calling for a thorough review of the trials and urging Sudan to abolish the death sentence altogether. The alleged rebels were sentenced to death by two special military courts established to try suspected members of Darfur’s rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) arrested over an unprecedented armed attack on Sudan’s capital last May.[PE]