51. The four defendants were sentenced to death by Judge Ananta Charan Patnaik in July. 52. They lasted less than four hours, and the court sentenced both defendants to death upon conviction. 53. Two others were earlier sentenced and four more defendants will be sentenced later this year. 54. Twenty other defendants were sentenced to two years imprisonment each for debauchery, according to the official verdict. 55. Under Arizona law, after a capital offender is convicted, a judge has sole discretion whether to sentence the defendant to death. 56. If convicted, each defendant could be sentenced to a maximum three years imprisonment. 57. Bizimungu said last week that no defendant would be sentenced to death or life imprisonment. 58. The three defendants were sentenced to six-year jail terms in absentia by an Abu Dhabi court early last year. 59. Two other defendants were sentenced to three years of forced labour and four more to two years in jail. 60. The defendants were sentenced for undermining the state ideology and inciting workers and students to demonstrate against the government. |