Burundi has docked 18 people suspected of involvement in a failed coup against President Pierre Nkurunziza , relatives of some of the accused, said on Sunday.

The suspects were all arraigned at the high court in the capital, Bujumbura.

Family members of two of the 18 men taken to court told newsmen the suspects had raw wounds on their bodies. One of them had lost hearing in one of his ears due to a beating in the cells.

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Report says one of the men, identified by onlookers as Juvenal Niyungeko, a senior officer, was escorted into the court without shoes and restrained by handcuffs.

However, it was not immediately clear what charges they were facing.

Christella Harerimana, a lawyer representing three of the suspects, said one of her clients had been walking barefoot since he was arrested.

The fate of General Godefroid Niyombare, who had announced the president’s ouster on Wednesday, was still not clear.

The arraignment came as hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Bujumbura to protest against Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term, defying the president’s call for an end to the weeks-long protests.

Burundi was plunged into deep crisis after Nkurunziza announced he was running for another five-year term, with clashes between police and protesters stirring memories of an ethnically-driven civil war that ended a decade ago.

“A lot of us citizens do not want the constitution to be violated as he is not allowed to lead for the third term. We will demonstrate until he steps down,’’ Nduwimana Belamie, one of the protesters, said.

According to the opponents, Nkurunziza’s decision violates the constitution and the Arusha deal to end the war that pitted rebel groups of the majority Hutu population, including one led by Nkurunziza.

The loyalist troops calmed the streets of the capital on Friday following clashes between the two factions.