ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) 鈥 At least 10 protesters in Nigeria faced a possible death penalty on Monday after being charged with treason over their participation in recent demonstrations against the country鈥檚 worst-in-a-generation economic crisis.
The protesters were arraigned in the capital, Abuja, and accused of acting 鈥渨ith intent to destabilize Nigeria 鈥 and intimidate the president鈥 during the protests. They pleaded not guilty and will remain in prison until a Sept. 11 bail hearing.
A British citizen was named among the suspects still at large. The British High Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nigeria police spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi accused Andrew Wynne of working with the protesters as a foreign mercenary and building 鈥渁 network of sleeper cells to topple the government and plunge the nation into chaos.鈥 He did not provide any evidence to back up the claim.
At least 22 protesters were shot dead by security forces during the demonstrations, Amnesty International has said. Authorities have denied it. The Associated Press .
Little is known about the fate of hundreds of other protesters arrested.
There have been growing concerns in Nigeria about human rights abuses under the government of , who was elected last year after promising positive change.
The protesters were charged under Nigeria鈥檚 Penal Code, which critics have described as one of the country's harshest laws and one used by authorities to clamp down on dissent. The treason charge carries the death penalty.
The trial was widely condemned in Nigeria.
鈥淪ome of the charges show how far Nigerian authorities can go in misusing the criminal justice system to silence critical voices. These are blatantly trumped-up charges that must be immediately withdrawn,鈥 Amnesty country director Isa Sanusi said in a statement.
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Associated Press writer Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria, contributed.
