Warders beat up suspects, say lawyers
The aftermath of twin blasts at the popular Gikomba market in Nairobi, where 12 people died and 78 others were injured on May 16, 2014. PHOTO | ISHMAEL AZELI |
What you need to know:
- The lawyers said prison authorities were shielding them from the public due to the “serious injuries” that they sustained.
- However, the authorities on Tuesday said they were unable to produce them in court as had been directed “due to security reasons”.
Fourteen terrorism suspects claimed they were tortured in detention and accuse authorities of seeking to cover up the matter.
Their lawyers made the allegations in a Nairobi court on Tuesday after the Prisons department failed to honour an order to present them for trial.
The suspects include four men charged over the attack on Nairobi’s Westgate mall, an Israeli and a Moroccan linked to Al-Shabaab and a man and his son held over the twin Thika Road bus explosions.
Six others, among them a Ugandan arrested after explosions at the Gikomba open air market in the city, are in the group.
They are said to have suffered broken bones, dislocations and deep cuts in an incident at the Kamiti Maximum Prison on August 27.
The lawyers said prison authorities were shielding them from the public due to the “serious injuries” that they sustained.
However, the authorities on Tuesday said they were unable to produce them in court as had been directed “due to security reasons”.
'COVER UP'
The prison requested to have the matter mentioned after two weeks, said Mr Chacha Mwita, a defence lawyer.
“We do hereby request to have a special mention at the Kamiti Maximum Prison for the court to observe the alleged injuries,” he said.
Mr Mbugua Mureithi, another defence lawyer, said: “The two weeks sought by the prison authorities in the cases, we believe, are not sought in good faith but intended to cover up the excesses perpetrated by the prison officers.”
The failure to present the suspects in court was also intended to prevent the 14 from seeing their relatives who had been denied access to them, the public and the court, the lawyer submitted.
The suspects are held in the same block and, by August 29, had not received proper medical attention, the lawyers said.
The court will make a ruling on the matter on Wednesday.
Mr Jabreen Ahmed Osama, an Israeli and Mr Mohammed Salim, a Moroccan, have been linked to Al-Shabaab and face 11 counts of terrorism.
They are each serving a 12 month jail term after pleading guilty to being in Kenya illegally.
They were arrested on February 25 on Nairobi’s Kamiti Road “while planning terror attacks”.
Mr Sar Guracha Haro and his son Worqu Dejene Sar face charges relating to the bus explosions.
