Six officials of the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA), arrested nearly three months ago during a meeting with a US diplomat, will be tried for spying, a defense lawyer said Tuesday.
Defense council spokesman Ishaq Shaddad told AFP that prosecutor for crimes against the state Isam Abdel Qadir had informed the defense that the six defendants would stand trial on charges of espionage and attempting to undermine the constitution.
The defendants were among eight people arrested in early December during a meeting with US embassy political officer Glenn Warren in Khartoum.
According to Al Rai Al Aam daily, two suspects have been released for lack of evidence.
The remaining six include the domestic NDA secretary general Joseph Okelu as well as Ali Ahmed al-Sayyed, Al-Tighani Mustafa, Mohamed Widaat Allah, Mohamed Mahjoub and Mohamed Suleiman, said the reports.
The paper said the defense team had filed a petition calling for their release.
If convicted, the suspects face a penalty ranging from five year-imprisonment to the death penalty. Sequestering properties and life in jail are included, said the daily.
The NDA is an umbrella movement that unites northern dissidents and southern separatists fighting an 18-year-old civil war against Khartoum – Albawaba.com
