Ethiopia: Prisoners of conscience to face 'trial'

23 February 2006

Ethiopia: Prisoners of conscience prepare to face'trial'

As international concerns regarding the humanrights situation in Ethiopia escalate, Amnesty Internationalcalled for the immediate and unconditional release ofopposition leaders, human rights defenders and journalistswho will face trial tomorrow on charges that includetreason, violent conspiracy and "genocide".

"These peopleare prisoners of conscience, imprisoned solely on account oftheir non-violent opinions and activities," said KolawoleOlaniyan, Director of Amnesty International's AfricaProgramme. "It is unacceptable that they are now facingserious criminal charges that could lead to death sentencesand possible execution."

"We demand their immediate andunconditional release and a halt to this attempt by theEthiopian government to criminalize freedom of expressionand prevent legitimate political and human rights activity."

The group of over 80 defendants, which includes tennewly-elected members of parliament and other officials ofthe opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD)party, is due to appear before the Federal High Court inAddis Ababa tomorrow.

The CUD members and journalists arerefusing to plead to the charges or mount a defence, on thegrounds that they do not expect a fair trial. The court isexpected to enter a plea of not guilty on their behalf.

Charges filed against them include: high treason,"outrages against the Constitution", inciting and organizingarmed uprising, and endangering the integrity of the state.Most are also charged with "genocide".

Among the CUDdefendants are Berhanu Negga, a professor of economics, andYacob Hailemariam, a former prosecutor in the InternationalCriminal Tribunal for Rwanda and a former UN SpecialEnvoy.

The group also includes four human rights defendersand 14 independent journalists. Others in the full list of131 defendants may be tried in their absence, such as fivejournalists of original Ethiopian nationality who live inthe United States and work for the Voice of America radiostation.

"We fear the defendants may not be tried inaccordance with internationally-recognized standards of fairtrial before impartial and independent judges," saidKolawole Olaniyan. "Furthermore, the grounds advanced by theprosecution for the charge of 'genocide' do not evenremotely match internationally-recognized definitions ofgenocide or the definition set out in the EthiopianCriminal Code. This absurd charge should be withdrawnimmediately."

The prosecution grounds for the genocidecharge include allegations of causing fear and harm to anethnic group, and harming members of the Tigrayan-led rulingparty by excluding them from social events and funerals.

Most of the defendants are currently held in Kalitiprison on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, with restrictedaccess to their families. In late November, several CUDleaders went on a hunger strike for several weeks in protestat their detentions. Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, who hadbeen very ill before his arrest in November, commenced asecond hunger strike on 8 February and is reportedlybecoming very weak. Amnesty International expressed concernabout the health of the defendants in prison, and called onthe Ethiopian authorities to provide them with any requiredmedical treatment immediately.

Background Prominenthuman rights defender Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, aged 75,is among the accused - a founder and former chair of theEthiopian Human Rights Council, and a current member of theCUD. Other human rights defenders on trial are civil societyactivists Daniel Bekelle, a lawyer and policy manager of theActionAid office in Ethiopia, and Netsanet Demissie, anenvironmental and human rights lawyer, chair of theOrganization for Social Justice in Ethiopia. Both had beeninvolved in Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP)activities in Ethiopia, but the authorities refused to allowthem to hold a public rally. Kassahun Kebede, an official ofthe Ethiopian Teachers Association, is also on trial.

Thedefendants are among several thousand suspected governmentopponents from the CUD and other opposition parties who weredetained as a result of anti-government demonstrations inNovember 2005 in Addis Ababa and other towns. The CUD hadcalled for non-violent protests against alleged fraud in theparliamentary elections of 15 May 2005, in which EuropeanUnion and other observers expressed concern at seriousirregularities.

In January, the British government cutoff US$88 million equivalent budget support to Ethiopia dueto concerns about governance and human rights issues arisingfrom the disputed elections, and other international donorshave take similar measures. On a visit to Ethiopia on 16-17February, the European Commissioner for Development andHumanitarian Aid met CUD leaders in prison, and called for apolitical dialogue between the government and opposition,and for the prisoners to be released on bail.

Dozens moreCUD members have been arrested in the past few days andaccused of being members of a "clandestine group linked tothe CUD" that police claimed had planned armed attacks on18-19 February, which had been prevented. CUD lawyer BerhaneMoges and Ethiopian Review website reporter Frezer Negash(f), arrested late January, were among 15 people taken tocourt on 21 February and remanded incustody.
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