Trial of Ethiopia’s opposition CUDP members starts
Feb 23, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — The trial of jailed Ethiopian opposition members and journalists facing charges up to treason began Thursday with only three of the 91 defendants present in court entering plea, officials said.
The remaining accused, facing wide-ranging charges including conspiracy to overthrow the government and treason, refused to enter a plea, which under Ethiopian law is interpreted as a not guilty plea, presiding judge Adil Ahmed said.
“With the exception a few individuals, most of the defendants prefer to remain silent when asked to enter plea of guilty or not guilty,” Adil said.
“As this is their right in line with the criminal code of the country, the court has recorded their decision of choice as a plea of not guilty,” Adil added.
The three, who said they were innocent of the accusations, are members of a non-governmental organisation. Their lawyer said the charges against them were not specific and urged the court to release them.
“The charges against my clients are so general and never specify the time, place and the way it (the crime) is committed so that the defendants rights can be protected,” said defence lawyer Alemu Denek. “For these very reasons, I would like the court to set free my clients.”
But prosecutors requested the court to reject Alemu’s arguments maintaining that the charges against them were clear.
The 129 people facing charges once had two had been acquitted, include 29 leaders of Ethiopia’s main opposition party Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (CUDP) and 19 journalists.
Of the accused, 91 were present in court, 36 are charged in absentia while two have attended previous sessions, but it was unclear where they were during Thursday’s hearing, officials said.
CUDP chairman Hailu Shawel also dismissed the charges, saying they were irrelevant.
“I have seen the charges and the evidences, none of them reflects the Ethiopian reality and the signatures which are claimed in the evidence do not belong to me at all,” he said.
The court adjourned the trial to March 1.
Meanwhile, Amnesty Internation (AI) called for the immediate release of the detainees and accused Addis Ababa of infringing upon their human rights.
“These people are prisoners of conscience, imprisoned solely on account of their non-violent opinions and activities,” said Kolawole Olaniyan AI’s director for Africa.
“We demand their immediate and unconditional release and a halt to this attempt by the Ethiopian government to criminalize freedom of expression and prevent legitimate political and human rights activity,” Olaniyan added.
The group warned that their trial may fall below international standards due to bias by judges and that even the genocide charges against the accused failed to satisfy legal definitions by Ethiopian laws.
“We fear the defendants may not be tried in accordance with internationally recognized standards of fair trial before impartial and independent judges,” Olaniyan said.
“Furthermore, the grounds advanced by the prosecution for the charge of ‘genocide’ do not even remotely match internationally recognized definitions of genocide — or the definition set out in the Ethiopian criminal code,” he added.
On Wednesday, the opposition members said they would not defend themselves against the charges, saying the country’s justice system was not independent.
Their charges relate to protests against last May’s disputed elections, which they say were fraudulently won by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
The government accuses the CUDP of inciting violence in a bid to overthrow the government in the wake of losing the May 15 elections.
But the opposition claims the polls were rigged by Meles’ ruling party and staged protests against the alleged fraud in June and November that erupted in violence, leaving at least 84 people dead, many at the hands of police.
(ST)