Television cameraman Osama Ghandi and technician Hassan Saleh of the state-owned Sudanese Television were arrested and accused of being involved in an alleged coup attempt. They were among 10 civilians who went on trial in late August 1996 in an in camera military court trial, in which most of the defendants were military officers. Ghandi told the court on Sept. 18 that military intelligence agents had coerced his confession by torturing him. CPJ received reports in 1997 that the military court had reached a verdict, although it was not clear whether the two journalists were convicted or if they remained in prison. At press time, CPJ had received no new information on their status.
