The second criminal bench of the federal high court has on Monday, June 12, 2007, passed a guilty verdict against most of the defendants in the Hailu Shawel case file. The timing of the ruling was a complete surprise to all of us.
Here is what happened on that fateful day in an impoverished corner of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.
As the judges came in to the court room with rather imperious expressions, the defendants rose to receive them as is the customary practice in any court room. Usually, the defendants sit after the judges, but to the mild surprise of every one, this mid morning Monday, they remained firmly in their standing position. This certainly caught the attention of the three judges. The senior judge, Adil Ahmed, skewed to his right to confer with Leuel Gebremariam, the judge that sits to his right. They whispered for a few seconds, while the third judge, Mohamed Abdulsani, stared straight ahead with one of his perfectly attuned blank stares.
Judge Adil chose not to ask why the defendants were not sitting as usual.
“Today’s court session is to deliberate on…” began Judge Adil, trying his best not to look in the direction of the defendants. But the defendants would have none of it, “We have an appeal to present to the court” said Berhanu Nega in an authoritative voice. Judge Adil veered angrily in the direction of Berhanu. He did not look amused at being interrupted: “You can not speak when you want to. The court is explaining today’s agenda. We shall first hear from the correctional facility. Has the court order been carried out?” said a flustered Adil in a frantic gesture to control the court room. Berhanu did not respond.
A representative of the prison at Kaliti immediately took center stage: “…The defendants had been given an opportunity to hold a half day conference as ordered by the court, but they refused citing the absence of Engineer Hailu Shawel (he was in a hospital at the time). They were given a second opportunity, and a half day conference was carried out as ordered by the court. They have also seen all the videos as prescribed by the court”
The reaction of the defendants against the statement by the prison representative was striking for its spontaneity. They protested in unison: “We have a petition to present to the court. We need to be heard…”
But Judge Adil would have none of it, and his refusal to listen exasperated the prisoners.
Dr Yakob Hailemariam was particularly vocal, repeatedly referring to the law in support of his appeal to be heard. “We won’t listen!.” (“Anadametem!” was what he said in Amharic)”
Sshot back Judge Adil: “The court had ordered that you should hold a half day conference. That the order had been carried out has been confirmed by the correctional facility…”
A second burst of spontaneous protest interrupted the judge: “We did not watch (the videos)…” cried out the prisoners.
Adil was on the verge of losing control of the court, a fact that was not lost to Judge Leuel, who interjected to warn the defendants in a severe tone of voice: “Let’s listen to each other. It has now become a standard practice to hold this court in contempt. We should not waste time by punishing you for contempt of court…”
Dr. Berhanu Nega responded to Leuel’s threat: “But you should listen to us. Listen to us (Admetun!)”…
Leuel did not let him finish: “Sit down. You have not been granted permission to speak…”
Berhanu stood his ground by remaining in his standing position. For a second, it looked as if though Berhanu would be held in contempt.
Judge Adil intervened: “Let him remain standing. Defendants are supposed to stand, not sit, during court proceedings. If you stand [speaking directly to Dr Berhanu Nega], it means you are respecting the law. Doctor, you can not speak when you want to. This is a court.”
Berhanu was not cowed: “Listen to us. We are the defendants. Let us speak.”
Dr Yacob Hailemariam, too, spoke out: “We have a right to be heard. Listen to us.”
Judge Adil responded angrily: “You yourselves are the ones who said that you will not engage in a defense.”
Judge Leuel continued: “You did not submit your evidences to the court.”
Berhanu did not disagree with him: “Listen to us. It is not about evidences…”
But it got him no where.
“Today’s agenda is to deliberate on how the defendant’s evidences will be presented to the court. After ruling on matters related to the evidences, we will address other issues. The court is adjourned for ten minutes,” said Judge Adil suddenly, and the three judges stood up and hastily walked out of the court.
The ten minutes turned out to be two hours, and when they returned they had a surprise for everyone.
Judge Adil immediately started reading a written statement: “We have a ruling concerning the defendants who have so far failed to submit to the court a listing of their evidences. The court has repeatedly ruled that the defendants should submit their evidences to the registrar’s office. However, the defendants have all along insisted that the court should not be presiding over their case. The law clearly stipulates that defendants should submit their evidences before the beginning of the trial. That they have not done so to date, signals that they do not have a defense to submit. As such, we find all but nine of the defendants guilty of the charges brought against them by the prosecutor [This is a very brief synopsis of the ruling].”
There was a stunned silence in the court after the ruling. It was totally unexpected. And so ended this Monday’s court session, abruptly and dramatically.
As we drove back to the center of Addis, we gazed out of our car’s window towards the residents of Addis, who went about their ways entirely oblivious to the historical significance of this Monday.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Reported by: Shannon Sims
WVEC-TV
Tuesday, the U.S. State Department confirmed a former Norfolk State University professor was convicted of crimes against the Ethiopian government.
Monday, an Ethiopian court convicted Yacob Hailemariam and 38 other defendants of attempting to over throw the government.
“It was tough going to visit him,” said Yacob’s daughter, Seyneie.
It’s been four months since she has seen her father.
“We were shocked. We didn’t expect this. I think we knew there might be opposition. This was the first time democratic elections were being held.”
Hailemariam, a former law professor at NSU in 2005, left the U.S. to run for a seat in parliament in his home country.
He won the election by a landslide as an opposition candidate, but before he could take office, he was arrested and imprisoned ruling government.
Human rights organization Amnesty International has been following his case closely.
“Amnesty International has put pressure on the government of Ethiopia and its allies, like the U.S., to act responsible and insure a fair trail and release these prisoners of conscience,” said Lynn Fredriksson of Amnesty International.
Seyneie is hoping the U.S. government will step in and help free her father.
“Maybe the next administration will be more hopeful, like the American government has not had a strong enough voice in the situation like we expected,” she said.
Hailemariam faces an extreme sentence life in prison or death. Neither option is a promising one for Hailemariam to be reunited with his family in Virginia Beach.
“Of course, when you hear those words my whole body freezes for a moment,” said Seyneie. “It’s not over yet. It doesn’t look good now, but we are certainly hopeful. He wanted to make a difference and hopefully one day that will happen.”
It has been more than a year since Hailmariam was arrested.
New Haven, Conn. — Researchers at Yale’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health and staff of the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative recently published and released a document for Ethiopia’s hospitals that is designed to improve their management capacity.
The document addresses specific areas of problem solving and leadership, while also focusing on key hospital systems.
The “Blueprint for Hospital Management in Ethiopia” was developed by the Ethiopian Hospital Management Initiative (EHMI), which is a program initiated by the Ethiopian Ministry of Health and led by the joined forces of the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative and Yale School of Medicine.
The Blueprint is an integral piece of EHMI, which began at the request of Tedros Adhanom Ghebeysus, the Ethiopian Minister of Health, as part of efforts by the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative to expand and improve treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS.
“The Blueprint will form the backbone of the EHMI program as it moves into year two,” said Tim Dentry, EHMI project director. “It is the direct outgrowth of the program’s success building leadership skills among Ethiopian professionals, while implementing real quality improvements in the 14 engaged hospitals.”
It is intended that the document be used by Ethiopian healthcare professionals from 14 public hospitals, Regional Health Bureaus, and the Federal Ministry of Health trained by Yale University and the EHMI program in order to improve access to, and delivery of, health care services to Ethiopia’s 76 million people.
The “Blueprint for Hospital Management in Ethiopia” forms the basis for quality improvements for eight different systems in Ethiopia’s hospitals. These systems include: 1- Human Resource Management, 2-Governing Boards, 3- Patient Flow, 4- Medical Records Management, 5- Nursing Standards and Practice, 6- Infection Prevention Policies, 7- Pharmacy Inventory Warehouse and Management, and 8-Global Budgeting and Financial Management.
Each system was designed, tested, and implemented in various hospitals by the EHMI program.
“We are pleased with the great success and innovative thinking of the EHMI Fellows and their partnering hospitals,” said Elizabeth Bradley, professor of public health and director of the EHMI project at Yale. “They have applied their newly acquired project management skills in order to initiate systems improvements in their hospitals. It is exciting to watch as each system is leading to both improved staff morale and improved patient care within each hospital. We look forward to the time when these systems will be expected to hospitals throughout the whole of Ethiopia.”
In a country that spends only $6 per person on health care and has extensive acute care needs, Bradley said the hospitals are often the place of last resort for many. Ensuring that they are as productive and efficient as possible is critical.
“Reliable systems are essential for quality care in any hospital, not simply those in Ethiopia who have limited resources,” Bradley said. “Fortunately, we have developed systems that are flexible for adaptation to the specific needs of each hospital in Ethiopia.”
Ghebeysus expressed his support for the Blueprint. “This past year was a very positive one with EHMI Fellows and health care professionals exchanging ideas and developing management skills ideas,” he said. “The ultimate result has been the design of these systems innovations that we look to test further and implement in hospitals throughout Ethiopia.”
Martha Dale, lecturer of public health in the health management division of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale, said, “The Blueprint will lead to continued improvements to Ethiopia’s health care system. Each recommendation is tailored to the needs of the nation’s hospitals and the development of its professional staff.”
The Blueprint was edited by Yale’s Program Manager Josh Pashman with input from over 50 people worldwide, including the EHMI program Fellows, Clinton Foundation staff, numerous consultants, Yale faculty, and students from both Yale College and the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health.
Founded by Charles-Edward Amory Winslow in 1915, the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale, is one of the country’s oldest programs in public health. It has played a pivotal role in defining and addressing public health issues and training leaders in public health research, education, and practice. The Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale provides leadership to protect and improve the health of the public. Through innovative research, policy analysis, and education that draws upon multidisciplinary scholarship from across the graduate and professional programs at Yale, the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale serves local, national, and international communities with its knowledge and expertise.
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PRESS CONTACT
Jacqueline Weaver
203-432-8555
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Organisers of a national reconciliation conference in Somalia due to start on Thursday have postponed it for one month in the second delay to long-awaited peace efforts in the chaotic Horn of Africa nation.
Ali Mahdi Mohamed, chairman of the National Reconciliation Committee said the conference was postponed “due to unforeseen circumstances”. It will now be held on July 15.
The government-organised and internationally-backed peace conference, which was first postponed from April, was intended to bring together in Mogadishu 1,355 delegates from different clans and factions across Somalia.
Foreign diplomats had expected the postponement, even though they are pinning their hopes on the conference as the best way to try to secure lasting peace in Somalia, which has been in anarchy since the ousting of a dictator in 1991.
Mahdi, reading a committee statement, said several clan leaders had requested a delay to choose their delegates, while the venue of the conference — a rundown and bullet-scared former police compound — had not yet been refurbished.
Committee official Abdikadir Mahamud Walayo said the main reason for the delay was to accommodate demands by Mogadishu’s dominant Hawiye clan for more time to prepare and talk to the government.
Some members of the Hawiye have been fighting in an insurgency against the interim government, led by President Abdullahi Yusuf of the rival Darod clan.
“We received some complaints from some sections of the Somali clans, especially the Hawiye. So we decided to accommodate them,” Walayo told Reuters.
INSURGENCY
The Somali government and its Ethiopian [Woyanne] military allies routed militant Islamists from Mogadishu at the end of 2006, but have been unable to pacify the city or establish national authority across the nation of 10 million people.
The Islamist-led insurgency has rumbled since the New Year, bringing two bouts of large-scale fighting that killed at least 1,300 people and sent nearly 400,000 fleeing the coastal capital, according to locals and U.N. figures.
Although the insurgents have been flushed out of their main Mogadishu strongholds, guerrilla attacks have continued against Somali government and Ethiopian military targets. African Union peacekeepers have also been hit.
Diplomats said the government should shoulder some blame for the second delay of the peace conference through not moving fast enough on preparations or reaching out to opponents.
“If this process is to work, the government has to show it is genuinely prepared to be more inclusive,” said one.
The Hawiye applauded the delay. “This is in fact a positive step towards reconciliation,” said spokesman Ahmed Diriye.
Analysts say the government must reach out to the Hawiye if there is to be any chance of stability in Somalia.
Bethuel Kiplagat, a Kenyan envoy who led the peace process that created the interim government in late 2004, urged the international community to remain patient with Somalia.
“The postponement is only one month. This conference can still definitely succeed. I am not overly concerned,” he told Reuters in Nairobi. “Remember (south) Sudan took 10 years to get a peace deal signed, and this is only a couple of months.”
(Additional reporting by Andrew Cawthorne and Jeremy Clarke in Nairobi)
Police are calling it a preemptive strike. They’ve arrested 20-year-old Kidus Yohannes after a roommate noticed his strange habits.
“He wasn’t normal, very quiet, very stone faced,” said his roommate Sam Westfahl.
Yohannes is Ethiopian, speaks Arabic and is a Muslim. But police said he also has a habit of collecting guns illegally and making threats.
“Every police officer that dealt with this person felt like there was something wrong here,” said Orem police Lt. Doug Edwards.
It was Westfahl who tipped police.
Westfahl claimed Yohannes had a habit of playing violent video games, surfing terrorist linked web sites and watching violent movies.
“We never tried to talk to him because he was not approachable.” Said Westfahl.
But when Yohannes played violent video games it got Westfahl’s attention. He said Yohannes constantly threatened the lives of police during those episodes.
“He would play games and make under his breath threats that concerned me even more,” Westfahl said.
Westfahl called police and on Friday they came to the house with a search warrant.
“We don’t want to wait to see if this becomes another Trolley Square or Virginia Tech,” said Lt. Edwards.
Police found two rifles in his car. They also found a clip with AK-47 ammo.
Police soon learned he purchased three AK-47-type weapons. He’s now accused of lying on the application.
The owner sold him the weapons and claims the application got by the state.
“They checked the alien number and found it to be satisfactory,” said gun shop owner Norman Van Waggenen.
Police also learned Yohannes had an extensive criminal history of carrying weapons illegally, once on school property.
But in plea bargains, weapons charges were dismissed in favor of other crimes he committed.
Just what his motives are remain unknown. Police say they found no plans to commit violent acts.
“There was nothing found that raises the alarm,” said Lt. Edwards.
Still Yohannes roommate feels he did the right thing in calling police.
“He acted very much like the Virginia Tech shooter, almost identical and that really concerned us,” Westfahl said.
Utah County prosecutors will screen this latest case against Yohannes. Police booked him on falsifying a gun application and stealing his roommate’s credit card.
WASHINGTON, June 13, 2007 (Reuters) – The United States said on Tuesday it was very concerned by an Ethiopian court’s guilty verdict of 38 opposition officials and said it was watching the situation very closely.
Ethiopia, a close ally of the United States in anti-terrorism efforts, has cracked down on the opposition, especially after disputed elections in 2005.
Those found guilty on Monday by an Ethiopian court were among 131 opposition leaders, journalists and civil society activists charged in December 2005 with treason, inciting violence and attempting to commit genocide.
They could face the death penalty when sentenced, which local media said would take place next month.
U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States was looking into whether the court’s action was in accordance with Ethiopia’s constitution and law.
“It would appear that this is a peremptory action that was taken by the court that surprised not only us but the defendants, as they were working to mount a defense against these charges,” said McCormack.
“Suffice to say, it is something we’re very surprised about, quite concerned about and watching very closely,” he added.
A former professor from Norfolk State University in Virginia, Yacob Hailemariam, was among the opposition leaders convicted in Ethiopia, the State Department said.
Hailemariam was a former prosecutor for the U.N.’s tribunal on war crimes in Rwanda and returned to Ethiopia in 2005 to take part in the elections
Ethiopia, a close ally of the United States in anti-terrorism efforts, has cracked down on the opposition, especially after disputed elections in 2005.