Trial of Ethiopian anti-poverty campaigners

Daniel Bekele, a policy manager at ActionAid Ethiopia was arrested on November 1 2005 along with a close colleague Netsanet Demissie. Denied bail for more than two years, the pair were eventually acquitted of treason but found guilty of a lesser charge of ‘provocation and preparation’.

The two campaigners have spent more than two years in prison and now hope to be freed on parole.

Bekele is a lawyer with a masters degree from Oxford University.

During 2005 he was active in the Global Call to Action against Poverty, the worldwide movement of which Make Poverty History was a part.

2005 was a year of political conflict in Ethiopia. The opposition contested the result of the May 15 parliamentary election and there were some violent clashes. Violence flared up again in October. The authorities responded by arresting demonstrators, opposition political activists and their leaders, journalists and a number of key civil society figures.

Arrested
Daniel was arrested on 1 November. A colleague, Netsanet Demissie, handed himself in to the police when he heard they were searching for him. Netsanet is head of the Organisation for Social Justice in Ethiopia, which works closely with ActionAid.

Both men were refused bail and have been in prison since November 2005. Attempts to secure their release on bail, including an appeal to the Supreme Court, were unsuccessful.

In January 2006 serious charges were laid against four organisations and 127 people, including Daniel and Netsanet. They were charged with 'the crime of outrage against the Constitution and the constitutional order'. Other defendants faced charges of treason and attempted genocide.

Although most defendants did not recognise the court and refused to plead, Daniel and Netsanet entered pleas of 'not guilty'. ActionAid has done everything it can to support their defence. We hope to see them freed after a fair trial.

Trial begins with video evidence
During a short session of the Federal High Court on 22 March 2006, the prosecution withdrew its charges against 18 people. Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie were not among them.

The court announced that it would reconvene on 2 May and sit continuously from then onwards.

Daniel and Netsanet were told that they will be allowed to hear the evidence given by witnesses, and then prepare their defence on those areas where they are implicated. Their lawyer will be allowed to cross-examine witnesses who refer to them.

From 8 May until 4 August the Federal High Court met on most weekdays.

On 24 July the prosecution sought to introduce 900 pages of new documentary evidence, a move which was still being contested by defence lawyers when the court adjourned on 4 August for the two-month legal vacation.

Prisoners separated, then reunited
After a brief session on 5 October the court adjourned for another eight days. On 13 October the defendants heard that the new prosecution evidence would be admitted.After cross examining prosecution witnesses on 3 November, the two campaigners were moved from the accommodation they had shared for the last six months and separated.

But after their lawyer registered a formal complaint on 6 November, the bench ruled unanimously that they be reunited. The hearing was then adjourned until 9 November.

The prosecution called its last witness on 29 November. The judges then adjourned the court until February 2007.

Judges split over ‘case to answer’
After an 11-week break the court reconvened on 19 February, and met again several times during March and early April. On 5 April the judges released some of the defendants, but ruled, by a two to one majority, that Daniel and Netsanet have a case to answer.

Daniel and Netsanet were allowed some time to prepare their defence and identify appropriate defence witnesses. From early May to 11 June the court met only once, on 1 June.

On 11 June, 38 people, the majority of those still on trial, were found guilty as charged. They were convicted on the grounds that they had offered no defence. The prosecution demanded the death sentence for all 38.

Life sentences
On 16 July, most of the 38 were sentenced to life imprisonment, and the rest to lesser prison terms. However, in a plea for clemency they had earlier signed a document recognizing their actions as unconstitutional, and on 20 July all were pardoned by the government.

Five days later, when five defendants changed their pleas to guilty, and two others decided to present no further evidence, only Daniel and Netsanet remained on trial. They began presenting their defence on Friday 27 July.

The defence called 29 witnesses over four days, and presented 300 pages of evidence. As the court adjourned for its annual recess, the judges instructed the prosecution to present its summing up in writing by 25 August. The defence was instructed to respond in writing five days later. The court would give its verdict on 9 October when it reconvened after its annual recess.

Delays
The prosecution asked for more time to prepare its summing up and was granted an extra month. The judges gave this as one of the reasons why, on 9 October, they were not ready to give a verdict. The court adjourned again until 22 November.

The verdict was postponed twice more - on the 22 November a judge was ill and on 30 November a new judge was appointed and given time to study the evidence.

Verdict and sentence
On 24 December 2007, Daniel and Netsanet were acquitted of treason but found guilty of a lesser charge of ‘provocation and preparation’.

Two days later, the pair were sentenced to two and a half years each. Since they have already spent more than two years in detention, there is a strong possibility that they will be freed on parole.

Unusually, the judge reading out the court's ruling heaped praise on the two men he was about to sentence.

The ruling highlighted their efforts to solve the political impasse that followed the 2005 elections and described them as 'courageous citizens promoting peace and the rule of law’.

The court dismissed a request by the prosecution that the two men's civil rights should be limited in the light of the forthcoming local election.

The campaigners may decide to appeal against their conviction.

See the trial timeline for latest updates.

photo : ©ActionAid