Five defendants in the mass trial before a military tribunal here of 86 persons accused of participating in last year’s pogroms at Oudjda and Djerada repudiated today their confessions of murdering the Oudjda postmaster, M, Amros, which they said were obtained under duress, and attempted to establish alibis for themselves. They became involved, however, in a web of contradictions.
Two witnesses said they saw the five accused men beating the victim. Other defendants accused of murdering two Jewish victims similarly denied their guilt and alleged their confessions had been extorted. They asserted that witnesses against them were biased.
One of the accused admitted hitting a 70-year-old Jew with a cudgel. The description of the murder of the elderly victim made a deep impression on the courtroom.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
