Amnesty International today expressed dismay at the life sentences handed down to 30 Ethiopian opposition party leaders, journalists and one of the country’s most prominent human rights defenders.
The 30 were also stripped of their right to stand for election or vote.
“On the basis of the information we have, most — if not all — of those sentenced today are prisoners of conscience imprisoned on account of their opinions, who have not used or advocated violence and should therefore be immediately and unconditionally released,” said Erwin van der Borght, Director of Amnesty International’s Africa Programme.
Five exiles being tried in their absence were also sentenced to life. Eight others were sentenced to terms in prison ranging from one to 18 years, following the 14-month-long political trial. All have the right to appeal to the Supreme Court and subsequently for presidential pardon.
Some weeks ago they had reportedly signed an undisclosed statement that was expected to lead imminently to a pardon and political reconciliation with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s ruling party, although the government has not confirmed this.
The trial continues on 25 July for ten others who are presenting a defence, including two civil society activists.
AI regrets that its representatives were not issued with visas they had applied for to enable the organization to observe today’s hearing, but still hopes to observe the upcoming defence case. The Ethiopian Prime Minister had said the trial was open to observers, and an Amnesty International representative had observed part of the trial on two previous occasions.
While Amnesty International reserves its assessment on the fairness of the trial until it is completed and the organization has fuller details of the proceedings, the organization is concerned that some aspects of the trial may not have met recognized international standards of fair trial.
Note to editor:
Amongst those sentenced to life in prison today is the prominent human rights defender Mesfin Woldemariam, a retired professor aged 76, who suffers from a worsening and painful spinal complaint.
For a fuller outline of Amnesty International’s concerns about the case and its background, please see: http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engafr250162007
Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA – A court sentenced 35 opposition politicians and activists, including a former Virginia professor, to life in prison and denied them the right to vote or run for public office for inciting violence in an attempt to overthrow the government, a judge said Monday.
The prosecution had called for death sentences against the defendants, who included Ethiopia’s top opposition leaders and five people charged, tried and convicted in absentia. Another eight defendants facing similar charges were sentenced to between 18 months and 18 years in prison, said Judge Adil Ahmed, reading the sentences on behalf of the three-judge panel.
The judges declined to follow the recommendation of the prosecution to hand down the death penalty, Adil said.
“The court has deemed life imprisonment as a comprehensive and sufficient verdict for the actions taken,” he said.
All people sentenced to life imprisonment also have been permanently denied the right to vote or run for office. Those given lesser sentences were banned from office for five years.
The judges also ordered the closure of three publishing companies and fined each of them between $1,700 and $13,600.
Those facing life imprisonment include the leader of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy, Hailu Shawel; Berhanu Nega, who was elected mayor of Addis Ababa; former Harvard scholar Mesfin Woldemariam; and former U.N. special envoy and former Norfolk State University professor, Yacob Hailemariam.
International human rights groups have widely condemned the trial as an attempt to silence government critics, and opposition leaders have claimed it was politically motivated.
The Federal High Court trial began in December 2005 following postelection violence that erupted during protests over balloting six months earlier.
The opposition won an unprecedented number of parliamentary seats in the 2005 vote, but Prime Minister Meles Zenawi held onto power. The opposition claimed the voting was rigged, and European Union observers said they were marred by irregularities.
Initially, the opposition leaders, journalists and others were charged with treason, inciting violence and attempted genocide. Judges dropped the treason and attempted genocide charges in April and later that month freed 25 prisoners, among them eight journalists.
Since April, a total of 43 people faced four other charges, but only nine chose to put up a defense.
Late last year, Ethiopia acknowledged that its security forces killed 193 civilians protesting alleged election fraud, but insisted they did not use excessive force. A senior judge appointed to investigate the violence had accused the security forces of excessive force.
The kangaroo court in Ethiopia today sentenced the elected leaders of Ethiopia to life in prison.
Among those who were sentenced were chairman of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (Kinijit) Ato Hailu Shawel, vice-chair Bertukan Mideksa, secretary general Muluneh Eyoel, and mayor of Addis Ababa Dr Berhanu Nega.
Additionally, Aby Gizaw, Andargachew Tsige, Elias Kifle (Ethiopian Review publisher), Mesfin Aman, and Zelalem Kifle — who were charged and convicted in absentia — are sentenced to life in prison.
The following journalists and Kinijit supporters received lower sentences: Mesifn Jebesa, Berhanu Alemayehu, Wudeneh Jedi, Melaku Oncha, to 18 years each. Abyot Wakjira and and Daniel Berihun to 15 years each. Wenackseged Zelleke (the deputy managing editor of Addis Zena) to 3 years. Dawit Fasil (Serkalem Fasil’s brother) to one year and 6 months.
The court ordered journalists Sisay Agena and Serkalem Fassil to pay upto 120,000 birr in penalty and and shut down their publishing firms.
Judge Adil Ahmed, on behalf of the three-judge panel, said that all those who were sentenced to life are banned from participating in Ethiopian politics in any form. Those who received 18-year or less were banned from politics for 5 years.
Last week, the prosecutor had recommended death penalty.
Adil said that the court decided to rule life in prison instead of death because the Kinijit leaders had only attempted the crimes they were charged with. Since they didn’t succeed, Adil said, they do not deserve death.
For some of the opposition leaders who are 70-year old or more and with poor health (including the 72-year-old chairman Ato Hailu Shawel), life in prison is as bad as a death sentence. Considering the terrible condition at the disease-infested Qaliti jail, even the younger and healthier prisoners will not survive for long.
The Woyanne regime media and Meles Zenawi’s backers at the U.S. State Department may try to spin the life in prison sentence as a better out come than death penalty. But those who have witnessed the suffering of Professor Asrat Woldeyes in jail, today’s court ruling is nothing less than condemning the elected leaders of Ethiopia to death.
Judge Adil said: “The accused have committed serious crimes, which caused the death of civilians and security forces and attempted to overthrow the government. The accused have also failed to present to the court mitigating evidences for the charges brought against them.”
While Adil was reading the decison, Dr Berhanu Nega stood up and started to walk out. Adil said Doctor, we are about to finish, come back. Dr Berhanu complied.
As Adil continued reading, Kinijit vice-chair, Bertukan Mideksa, started to flash “V” sign and the other leaders, including family members, followed suit.
The opposition leaders had refused to recognize the court and did not enter a plea, saying the trial was political.
The United States government is soon to erect perhaps its largest single structure in Africa, in the compound of its Embassy in Addis Abeba, which is also one of the three largest embassies it has on the continent. When the construction is completed in three years, the four-storey building is projected to consume a total investment of 140 million dollars.
This investment will be one of two such projects in the Horn of Africa; the US government also plans to build a brand new Embassy in Djibouti City, projected to cost 100 million dollars.
Clearing works inside the Embassy compound in Addis Abeba has already begun, although the construction contract is due to be awarded to an American firm in October 2007, according to senior diplomatic sources. The firm to be awarded the project is, however, expected to sub-contract much of the local component to local construction firms, and anticipated to offer job opportunities to over a 1,000 people, according to these sources.
“More than the employment opportunities, we at the Embassy are very excited for the technology transfer this project will bring to local companies,” Donald Yamamoto, US ambassador to Ethiopia, told Fortune.
The four-storey building, depicting a ship, will be erected right in front of his residence, on the vast green area. It will serve as offices to the various bureaus the Embassy has inside the compound.
The US Embassy in Addis Abeba was moved from its previous location in Mercato, a.k.a. American Gibe, to its current location in 1945. The white building that serves as the ambassadors’ residence, recently renamed after President Theodore Roosevelt, was first built in 1920 by the Japanese, who used it as their first legation before they were expelled from the country for their support of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia.
It was during President Roosevelt’s reign in the White House that the US started a diplomatic relationship with Ethiopia. Mr. Robert P. Skinner, the US’s consul-general in Marseilles, France, visited Emperor Menelik’s court in Addis Abeba in December 1903.
The Americans, however, took the Embassy compound and its buildings, which also incorporate two tukkals, after promising Emperor Haile Sellasie that the residence and the tukkals would always be preserved.
The Mesgana Dancers are returning for their second USA tour presented by Children of Ethiopia Education Fund (COEEF) and Ethiopia Reads. This year’s tour has been expanded to include many more cities and venues so more people can see these wonderful girls perform their stunning display of Ethiopian cultural dance and song!
Mesgana (an Amharic for gratitude), “represents the hope this tour will bring to the girls of Ethiopia”, says the press alert released by the Children of Ethiopia Education Fund, a non-profit organization based in Murray, Utah, and the tour’s primary organizer.
“If not properly educated, girls in Ethiopia will be faced with disease, prostitution and poverty.” According to the tour organizers, for two hundred to five hundred dollars a year sponsors can send a student to a private school in Ethiopia. Currently 800 students are enrolled in the program.
The tour also benefits Ethiopia Reads, another non-profit organization founded in 2003 by Yohannes Gebregeorgis and led by the celebrated children’s author Jane Kurtz. The group establishes libraries in schools in Ethiopia and has published many books in Amharic.
The tour will be from August to September 2007 and will include stops in Washington, DC, Columbia, MD, Evanston (Chicago), IL, Atlanta, New York City, West Orange, NJ Denver & Boulder, CO, Salt Lake City, Murray, & St. George, UT, San Jose, Palo Alto, Ontario/Upland, and Los Angeles (San Fernando), CA.
Ethiopia and Senegal had to pack their luggages for home after both suffered another defeat on Sunday in their respective group matches at the ninth All-Africa Games, being held in the Algerian capital.
In a Group A game with South Africa, Ethiopia swallowed a 1-3 fiasco and failed to make up for their 0-3 loss to defending champions Nigeria in an earlier match on Thursday.
In the 28th minute, South Africa’s forward Antonia Carelse found the net to help her team take a lead in the first half.
Ethiopia leveled in the 69th minute by Addis Feleke. But South Africa regained the lead two minutes later through defender Belinda Nkosi. The South Africans secured their three points in the 87th minute as forward Portia Modise struck the third goal.
Senegal, in a Group B match with Ghana on Sunday, were overwhelmed in a 3-0 defeat from the Black Princesses. Earlier on Thursday, Senegal had incurred a 3-1 defeat to hosts Algeria.
Both Senegal and Ghana were making their debut in the women’s soccer, which was first introduced at the eighth All-Africa Games held in the Nigerian capital Abuja in 2003.
After Sunday’s group elimination, Nigeria and South Africa ranked the top two in Group A, while Ghana and Algeria got into the semifinals from Group B.
The semi finals will be held on Wednesday, with Nigeria playing hosts Algeria while Ghana fighting South Africa.
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