On November 16, the national special tribunal created to try cases of war crimes in Darfur sentenced two Sudanese soldiers to death, the tribunal's president told Reuters. The two soldiers are accused of arresting civilians they suspected of being rebel members north of Darfur, torturing them and beating one of them to death. They have 15 days to appeal. In announcing the two convictions, Sudan was sending a sharp response to the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Darfur, who said on October 22 that the Sudanese tribunal was not trying the most serious cases (IJT-35). The Khartoum government created this tribunal in response to the referral of the situation to the ICC, in order to demonstrate that it can render justice in its own country.