Sudan court sentences three men to hand amputation for stealing

The verdict, the first of its kind in almost a decade, has shocked many who fear country is sliding back into state extremism

Three Sudanese men have been sentenced to hand amputation for stealing, the first time in almost a decade that such a punishment has been handed down in the country's courts.

The three men in their 20s were convicted of stealing gas cylinders in Omdurman, Sudan's most populous city, which sits across the Nile River from the capital, Khartoum.