Ethiopia adjourns trial of opposition leaders
Mar 1, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — The trial of Ethiopian opposition leaders and journalists was adjourned Wednesday after the federal high court dismissed an application by three of the 129 defendants to have a separate trial.
High court Judge Adil Ahmed ruled that the three — two employees of British aid group ActionAid and a teacher — would not be tried separately because it would delay the whole trial in which the accused face wide-ranging charges including conspiracy, treason and genocide.
“We have examined your request for a separate trail, based on the country’s penal code which stipulates how charges should be pressed against a defendant and when a separate trail is appropriate. We have found that the charges are in line of the penal code,” Adil ruled, rejecting an application by the trio to be tried separately.
“We did not accept your request for separate trail and we did not find any evidence which supports your claim that the charges are not clear and general which makes it difficult for you to defend,” Adil Added.
The three entered a not guilty plea before the court adjourned the hearing to March 22.
The trial opened last week with 91 of the defendants present in court, but only three of them entered pleas with the remaining refusing to respond to the charges, prompting the court to interpret their silence as a not guilty plea in accordance to the country’s laws.
The charges against them stem from protests against last May’s disputed polls that were won by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, but contested by the opposition, which claims that they were marred by massive vote-rigging.
However, the government has accused the main opposition group, Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) of inciting violence in a bid to overthrow the government after losing the May 15 elections.
At least 84 people were killed in violent street demonstrations in June and November against the alleged fraud, with many dying at the hands of the police.
Meanwhile, the authorities have also detained one of the CUD lawyer’s, Berhane Mogese, on allegations of “participation in terrorist activities”, a defence lawyer told AFP.
Berhane was arrested on February 18 had has been remanded in custody while an investigation continues.
(ST)