Eight S. African policemen convicted of murdering Mazambican immigrant
Xinhua, August 25, 2015 Adjust font size:
A South African court on Tuesday convicted eight policemen of murdering a Mozambican national in 2013.
The judgment was delivered by Judge Bert Bam at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
Bam said the state had proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused deliberately dragged Mido Macia and further beat him to death.
The judge refuted claims by the policemen that they had been attacked by Macia who tried to rob them of a firearm when they tried to arrest him in Daveyton, Johannesburg in 2013.
Such claims were fraught with discrepancies, Bam said.
"All eight of them acted in common purpose in the dragging of Macia behind a police van and his assault in the Daveyton police station's cells on Tuesday, February 26, 2013," Bam said.
The death of Macia made international headlines after an amateur footage showing Macia being dragged through the streets of Daveyton went viral on YouTube, sparking outrage in South Africa and abroad.
The eight men had all pleaded not guilty.
Bam adjourned the court for possible sentencing later. Enditem