On December 6, two Roman Catholic priests, Hilary Boma...

On December 6, two Roman Catholic priests, Hilary Boma and Lino Sebit, and 18 other civilians arrested in June 1998, were pardoned by Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir. They were charged with planting bombs intended to explode in the capital Khartoum on the 9th anniversary of Sudan's June 30, 1989, military coup. Officials accused them of being in league with the National Democratic Alliance, the umbrella organization for exiled dissident groups trying to topple the Islamic government in Khartoum. The suspects were brought to trial last year before a military tribunal but won a plea to appear instead before a civilian court. They faced the death penalty if convicted. It seems that el-Bashir ordered the pardon as part of government efforts to reconcile with Sudan's opposition.