South African policemen guilty of murdering Taxi driver

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A South African court has convicted eight policemen of murdering a Mozambican taxi driver who was tied and dragged behind a police van in 2013.

The judge said there was no doubt that the police could have foreseen that their actions would cause the death of 27-year-old Mido Macia.

The incident, recorded on video by a bystander, caused widespread revulsion at the time.

Rights groups have often accused South Africa's police of brutality.

President Jacob Zuma condemned the incident as "horrific" and "unacceptable".

The video showed Mr Macia struggling with police on 26 February 2013 after apparently parking his vehicle illegally in Daveyton, east of the city of Johannesburg.

Police officers then overpowered the taxi driver and tied him to the back of a van by his arms before driving off, the footage showed.

Mr Macia later died in police custody, the prosecution said.

The policemen had pleaded not guilty to murder.

They said Mr Macia had fallen out of the van and the handcuffs "accidentally hooked on to the back on the van".

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