Ten men found guilty of treason for leading a secessionist rebellion in Namibia’s Caprivi region have been sentenced to long prison terms.
Seven of them received a 32 year jail sentence; the other three got 30 years.
Judge John Manyarara said such long prison sentences were necessary.
“High treason is one of the most serious crimes anybody can commit in today’s world,” he said.
They were expelled from the courtroom before their sentences were handed down for shouting “Viva Caprivi”.
None of the accused recognised the court’s authority, saying they were not Namibian. The trial of another 119 accused, which started in 2003, will continue in September. 
The judge had found the men guilty a week ago - some of going to Angola in 1998 to collect weapons then used in an attack in Caprivi region.
In August 1999, a police station, border post, the offices of the NBC, a military base and a bank came under attack in Katima Mulilo.
Twelve people died in the rebellion, before it was crushed by the military.
The men have the right to appeal, although this is unlikely as the men do not recognise the court’s procee-dings. Recently, two Caprivians claimed they were abducted from Botswana, where they were living in a refugee camp, to face trial in a country they do not recognise.
The person behind the secessionist movement, Mishake Muyongo, formerly a prominent politician in the country, has been living in exile in Denmark ever since the events of August 1999.