|
|
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
ETHIOPIA: Defence trial of ex-president begins
ADDIS ABABA, 4 November 2003 (IRIN) - The defence trial of ousted Ethiopian ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam, who is facing genocide charges, began on Tuesday, almost a decade after the original hearing began. The former president, who fled to Zimbabwe after his overthrow in 1991, is being tried with dozens of top officials accused of crimes against humanity during his 17-year rule.
Some 37 senior officials appeared in court on Tuesday to answer 206 charges that they were responsible for the infamous red terror campaign unleashed in the 1970s.
Former Ethiopian Prime Minister Fikre Selassie Wogderesse made an impassioned appeal on behalf of his fellow defendants for financial support to conduct their defence. He told three judges presiding over the case that the defendants were “penniless” while the Ethiopian government had received financial support to fund the trials.
“We have been jailed for a long time,” the 54-year-old, who was prime minister for 14 years during Mengistu’s rule, told the wooden panelled courtroom. “We are penniless. We request the government to provide us with funds to help us prepare our defence,” he said, reading from a four-page letter. “For proper justice to be dispensed we request the court to give us all the support we require in our defence.
“Should the government reject our request for funds, we request the court to allow us the right to appeal to international donor organisations for funding to prepare our defence.”
Wogderesse, who sat next to former vice president Fissiha Desta, added: “The crime alleged to be committed by us is almost 30 years old. Most of our witnesses have died while others have left the country. Under such circumstances it is difficult for us to bring all the witnesses to court.”
Presiding judge Medhin Kiros rejected the request and said the court did not have the power to “authorise” his appeal.
The trials, which are among the longest in history, have been criticised by international human rights organisations for the length of time they have taken. Critics have also argued that the on-going trials - the charge sheet and legal documents against the senior officials is 8,000 pages long - have not helped with reconciliation.
Thousands of people - many of them political opponents - are believed to have been killed in the campaign that began with the ousting of Emperor Haile Selassie.
Special prosecutor Joseph Kiros told journalists that 106 of the alleged architects of Mengistu’s regime had been originally charged.
Mengistu and 25 others are being tried in absentia, he said at the hearing, while another 43 died either before or during the nine-year trials.
According to the latest publicly available figures, some 6,426 defendants - including the 106 top officials - are awaiting trial, including almost 3,000 in absentia. More than 1,569 decisions have been handed down - 1,017 resulting in convictions, according to published figures.
Relatives of the defendants and of victims of the red terror sat in silence during the three-hour hearing at a specially convened courtroom in Addis Ababa. Diplomats also observed the proceedings, which opened under tight security before being adjourned until December.
The defence trial of ousted Ethiopian ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam, who is facing genocide charges, began on Tuesday, almost a decade after the original hearing began. The former president, who fled to Zimbabwe after his overthrow in 1991, is being tried with dozens of top officials accused of crimes against humanity during his 17-year rule.
Some 37 senior officials appeared in court on Tuesday to answer 206 charges that they were responsible for the infamous red terror campaign unleashed in the 1970s.
Former Ethiopian Prime Minister Fikre Selassie Wogderes made an impassioned appeal on behalf of his fellow defendants for financial support to conduct their defence. He told three judges presiding over the case that the defendants were “penniless” while the Ethiopian government had received financial support to fund the trials.
“We have been jailed for a long time,” the 54-year-old, who was prime minister for 14 years during Mengistu’s rule, told the wooden panelled courtroom. “We are penniless. We request the government to provide us with funds to help us prepare our defence,” he said, reading from a four-page letter. “For proper justice to be dispensed we request the court to give us all the support we require in our defence.
“Should the government reject our request for funds, we request the court to allow us the right to appeal to international donor organisations for funding to prepare our defence.”
Wogderes, who sat next to former Vice-President Fiseha Desta, added: “The crime alleged to be committed by us is almost 30 years old. Most of our witnesses have died while others have left the country. Under such circumstances it is difficult for us to bring all the witnesses to court.”
The presiding judge, Medhin Kiros, rejected the request and said the court did not have the power to “authorise” his appeal.
The trials, which are among the longest in history, have been criticised by international human rights organisations for the length of time they have taken. Critics have also argued that the on-going trials - the charge sheet and legal documents against the senior officials is 8,000 pages long - have not helped with reconciliation.
Thousands of people - many of them political opponents - are believed to have been killed in the campaign that began with the ousting of Emperor Haile Selassie.
The special prosecutor, Joseph Kiros, told journalists that 106 of the alleged architects of Mengistu’s regime had been originally charged.
Mengistu and 25 others are being tried in absentia, he said at the hearing, while another 43 died either before or during the nine-year trials.
According to the latest publicly available figures, some 6,426 defendants - including the 106 top officials - are awaiting trial, including almost 3,000 in absentia. More than 1,569 decisions have been handed down - 1,017 resulting in convictions, according to published figures.
Relatives of the defendants and of victims of the red terror sat in silence during the three-hour hearing at a specially convened courtroom in Addis Ababa. Diplomats also observed the proceedings, which opened under tight security before being adjourned until December.
Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict, (IRIN) Governance
[ENDS]
The material contained on this Web site comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post any item on this site, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All graphics and Images on this site may not be re-produced without the express permission of the original owner. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2003
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
