Five men were charged on Thursday in connection with an attack by Somali gunmen on Garissa University in northeast Kenya that killed 148 students, the worst militant attack in the east African nation in almost two decades.

Kenyan prosecutors have charged five men—four Somali nationals and a Tanzanian—of being behind the April Garissa University.
The attack was claimed by the armed group Al Shabab.

The five men pleaded not guilty in the152 counts of committing acts of terrorism in a Nairobi court on Thursday.

Prosecutor Daniel Karuri told the court that the five suspects conspired to attack the university and urged the court to deny them bail. The prosecutor however failed to tell the court the roles each suspect played in the attack.

The five suspects informed the court that the police tortured them while in custody in a bid to force them to confess.

Speaking through an interpreter, the five suspects claimed that they suffered under the hands of the police. They said that their heads were dipped in buckets full of water, electrocuted and whipped after they denied involvement in the Garissa University attack.

The prosecutor urged the court to be allowed to hold the suspects for more days as they are flight risk.