Ethiopia convicts 27 over coup conspiracy

By Barry Malone | November 20, 2009

Government says group planned assassinations
Convicted men guilty of charges carrying the death penalty
Relatives say convicted men were tortured in prison

Ethiopians under Mercenary Rule (1991 - present) - In 2005 army members overwhelmingly voted for the opposition. General Asaminew was purged from the army when Zenawi found out the troops under Asaminew's command had over 90 percent voted for Kinijit. Even today, the problem is not with the army; it is with the opposition. At a time when once-hailed opposition leaders like Yacob Hailemariam or Hailu Shawel either quit or desert into the enemy camp, can the eight-party Medrek stand the ground, and remain united to end a mercenary rule in Ethiopia? Time will tell. Read War hero Col. Atakilti Berhe still in jail

Brig.-Gen. Tefera Mamo is now among the convicted

ADDIS ABABA, Nov 19 (Reuters) - An Ethiopian court convicted 27 serving and former soldiers on Thursday of planning a coup and found them guilty on other charges which also carry the death penalty.

"The men were convicted of various offences including conspiring to kill government officials and conspiring to instruct the army not to obey government orders," Mekonnen Bezabeih, Justice Ministry spokesman, told Reuters.

"The maximum sentence for the offences would be the death penalty."

A further 13 men were convicted in absentia on the same charges in August. That group included Ethiopian-born U.S. citizen, Berhanu Nega, who teaches economics at Philadelphia's Bucknell University.

Six more men were acquitted on all charges.

Judge Adem Ibrahim warned relatives not to "wail or show emotion" when the verdict was announced but several people cried as the men were convicted.

Scores of police ringed the courtroom and escorted the men to waiting vans.

Berhanu was elected mayor of capital Addis Ababa in Ethiopia's last elections in 2005, but was jailed with other opposition leaders after disputing the government's victory in the election and were accused of orchestrating street protests.

Security forces killed about 200 protesters who Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said were marching on government buildings to overthrow him.

"BEATEN AND BEATEN AND BROKEN"

Berhanu was pardoned in 2007 and went to the United States where he set up his "May 15" opposition group named after the date of the 2005 election.

Prosecution lawyers said Berhanu led the 40 "May 15" members from the United States.

Addis Ababa says the group had planned to blow up power and telecoms facilities to provoke protesters who would then march on government buildings and try to topple the government.

The arrests have worried rights groups, who say the Ethiopian government has been cracking down on dissent ahead of national elections next May.

Opposition parties say the charges have been trumped up as an excuse to arrest their members. Relatives of the men say they have been tortured in prison.

"They have been brutalised in prison and so have all the other men," one relative told Reuters after the conviction.

"Our loved ones have been beaten and beaten and broken so that we don't even recognize them when they come to court. One man has been blinded."

Rights group Amnesty International says relatives of "May 15" members have been unfairly arrested. The Ethiopian government denies that.

The men will be sentenced on Nov. 24. (Editing by Louise Ireland)

Court erupts in uproar over tortured army general

ADDIS ABABA (Nov 19) - A federal court erupted in anger on Friday as a jailed army general who was once exalted as a war hero during the 1998-2000 Ethiopia-Eritrea War told the court that he lost his left eye during a torture which he said was rife among other defendants jailed with him, Voice of America (VOA) has reported.

The retired army general is accused along with others of "conspiring to overthrow the constitutional order by force" - a common accusation the government uses whenever it wants to brutally crush dissenting voices or individuals suspected of harboring dissenting views.

When the political prisoners appeared in court, the army general began to appeal to the court to tell his side of the story. The court declined his plea.

"All of a sudden, the prisoners stood up together and said in one voice: 'Let's be heard,'" according to Meleskachew Amaha, a VOA correspondent who covered the court event.

Addressed by his civilian title "Ato," Asmainew Tsige Tebeje, the former army general who is the second defendant on the list, told the court that he was tortured and had lost his left eye to beatings. "At this time, the court erupted in cries and wailings of the crowd," VOA said, forcing the judge to suspend session for a few minutes. All except prosecutors, lawyers and security personnel were ordered to leave the court.

The VOA said when the media were allowed to return to the court, Asaminew was telling the court about his harrowing story, the injuries he suffered in the hands of his torturers he identified by their names.

The defendant said he had cuts to his neck and an injured throat when his torturers pulled off his necklace and tore the skin.

Asaminew appealed to the court to be treated by an independent doctor, for human rights organizations to investigate his condition, to end his solitary confinement and transfer him to join other inmates, and finally a legal action to be taken against those who committed the crime of torture.

A fourth defendant on the list, Major Mekonnen Worku, also told the court he was beaten in jail, showing off his injuries on his arms and legs. The court then asked the prison administration to respond to the accusations of torture and beatings.

The prison official said the accusations were wild stories intentionally concocted to tarnish the good image of the prison administration.

The court told the defendants, which the government alleges are members of the banned Ginbot 7 movement, to submit in writing all the crimes they faced behind bars. It also ordered the prison administration to investigate the crimes, and return to court with its finding. VOA said the court was adjourned for November 23, 2009.

Courts have little or no independence in Ethiopia and are often portrayed as the instruments of repression of the Meles Zenawi regime. (Ethiomedia)