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Background Notes on
trial of Netsanet Demissie and Daniel Bekele
19 November 2007
How are CIVICUS and GCAP active in Ethiopia?
CIVICUS and GCAP have been actively rallying support and solidarity
around their case since their arrest in November 2005.
In April 2006, a group of prominent civil society leaders – Kumi Naidoo;
Archbishop Ndungane of Cape Town; Salil Shetty, Director of the UN
Millennium Campaign and Henry Malumo of GCAP Africa – visited Ethiopia
and met with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to express their concern about
the case. Prime Minister Zenawi reassured the team that the trial would
be fair and swift, but that they must let justice system proceed without
interference. The Prime Minister also agreed to allow the
re-establishment of GCAP in Ethiopia.
Aside from this high level action, CIVICUS has organised many appeal
campaigns, reminding the Ethiopian government that civil society
activists around the world continue to watch the case.
Most recently, CIVICUS and GCAP organised an International Day of
Solidarity with Daniel and Netsanet on 28 June 2007. Organisations and
individuals in more than 10 countries wrote letters and organised events
supporting Daniel and Netsanet.
What are CIVICUS and GCAP asking for?
We are asking for the swift completion of the trial, and the acquittal
of Daniel and Netsanet.
We are also asking the government of Ethiopia to respect the rights of
civil society organisations and actors in Ethiopia to freely associate,
assemble and express themselves without fear. These rights are enshrined
in the constitution of Ethiopia, as well as the African Charter of Human
and Peoples' Rights.
Since the arrest and detention of Daniel and Netsanet, as well as
political opposition leaders, journalists and trade unionists in
Ethiopia, civil society has been plunged into a state of paralysis,
where they are afraid to be publicly critical of government policy. We
ask that the government support the vital work of civil society, and
reassure activists that they can peacefully engage with the government,
without fear of harassment, arrest and detention.
What are Daniel and Netsanet accused of?
Netsanet Demissie and Daniel Bekele are two civil society activists, who
have no political connection, and appear to have been arrested solely on
the basis of their legitimate critique of the government during their
anti-poverty and human rights work. They were both organizers and
members of the executive committee of the Network of Ethiopian NGO's and
CSOs that monitored the 15 May 2005 election. They are also both
coordinators of the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) in
Ethiopia.
Both have been detained since November 2005 and their case began on 2
May 2006. They were charged alongside around 131 others, who were
political opposition members and journalists, facing charges including
treason and genocide.
Daniel and Netsanet are being charged with criminal conspiracy with the
intention of overthrowing the constitution or constitutional order. This
charge carries a possible sentence of life imprisonment or death. They
have been consistently denied bail, even upon appeal. Both Daniel and
Netsanet are recognised as Amnesty International Prisoners of
Conscience.
Could you tell me about the trial's background, and
its current status?
At the start of the trial in May 2006, 131 opposition politicians,
journalists and civil society leaders stood accused of a range of
charges from genocide to treason. They were among thousands who were
detained following protests accusing the government of rigging the 15
May 2005 presidential elections.
In April 2007, the charges of high treason and genocide were dropped
against all the defendants, leaving them accused of charges including
"outrage against the constitution or constitutional order;" "obstruction
of the exercise of constitutional powers;" "inciting, organising and
leading armed rebellion," and "impairing the defence power of the
state."
On 11 June 2007, in the trial's first verdicts, 38 journalists and
opposition politicians were found guilty. The Prime Minister pardoned
this 38 on 20 July. Another 33 others were later sentenced and pardoned
on 18 August. Altogether, approximately 61 were sentenced and then
pardoned.
Prior to their sentencing and pardon, these approximately 61 reportedly
signed an undisclosed statement, admitting that they used
"unconstitutional means to change the constitutionally established
government functions" following the 2005 elections.
Although they were asked to sign a similar statement, Daniel and
Netsanet declined. They argue that their activities in 2005 were
entirely legal and did not serve to undermine, but rather to protect and
promote Ethiopia's constitutional order. They wish to establish this in
court and secure their acquittal. Had they agreed to sign the statement,
it would have undermined civil society in Ethiopia.
Daniel and Netsanet presented their defence from 27 July until 2 August,
calling 29 witnesses and presenting 300 pages of documentary evidence.
Their witnesses included members of the opposition party CUD and a UN
election observer, all who pointed to Daniel and Netsanet's innocence.
Both the prosecution and the defence have now submitted their final
statements (albeit 5 weeks later than expected).
Their verdict was originally set for Tuesday, 9 October 2007 at 9am in
Addis, however judges have delayed giving the verdict until 22 November
2007. Because the final statements were submitted later than expected,
giving the judges less time to deliberate, they said they needed more
time to decide.
What are the possible outcomes of the case?
Whenever the judgment is given there are obviously two possible verdicts
– innocent or guilty; but more importantly there are three possible
outcomes:-
Acquitted - innocent & freed immediately;
Guilty, but freed immediately – they could be sentenced to a
period less or equal to the time they have already served, so therefore
released.
Guilty & further imprisonment – they could receive an additional
prison sentence. This could also result in them being pardoned later (as
happened in the other cases)
If innocent:
We would welcome this verdict, and celebrate the release of Daniel and
Netsanet.
However, we must also stress that civil society continues to be
restricted in Ethiopia. Daniel and Netsanet's release is a step in the
right direction, but the government must go further. Daniel and
Netsanet's case has frightened civil society activists in Ethiopia,
intimidating them from speaking out against government policy for fear
of meeting the same fate. The government of Ethiopia must ensure that
civil society is able to operate freely.
We are also happy to hear that the ban on internal text messaging has
recently been lifted, allowing people to text message freely. It has
been impossible for the duration of the case.
If guilty:
If they are found guilty, there will be a delay as the judges deliberate
on the appropriate sentence. This would be a difficult and extremely
uncomfortable time for all involved as we would be waiting to see
whether a) they receive a sentence of two years or less and would
therefore be freed immediately because of the time already spent in
prison, or b) they are given a longer sentence, perhaps of the order of
five to ten years, and therefore remain incarcerated.
If they receive a sentence of two or less years, we would welcome their
freedom, but express shock that they now have criminal records for their
legitimate civil society work.
If they receive a longer sentence, it would be a shock to all the trial
observers, family, friends, colleagues, the diplomatic community and the
many supportive governments and international institutions; and a
massive blow to international civil society.
What happened during the 15 May elections in Ethiopia?
Immediately following the 15 May 2005 presidential elections, the
opposition alleged rigging by the government and ruling party.
Opposition supporters demonstrated in Addis Ababa, accusing the ruling
party of fraud and the national election board of bias. Peaceful
demonstrations led to violent confrontations with security forces, and
at least 36 protesters were killed. Over 9,000 opposition supporters,
journalists and activists were detained, but released by end of June.
In a second series of opposition demonstrations in November 2005, police
shot dead at least 42 protesters, wounding many others. The security
forces arrested about 10,000 opposition supporters. After this second
demonstration the Prime Minister Meles Zenawi accused the opposition of
treason and organizing a violent uprising to overthrow the government.
Before the election, he had also claimed the opposition was encouraging
ethnic hatred that could lead to genocide.
Tell me a little more about Daniel and Netsanet:
Daniel Bekele is a human rights lawyer who is Head of Policy Research
and Advocacy Department of ActionAid Ethiopia, a branch of ActionAid
International. He has been an active participant in a number of civil
society organizations and professional associations such as the
Ethiopian Bar Association and the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association in
gender discriminatory law reform initiatives, human rights & women
rights education and defending women in difficult situations. He was the
lead drafts person of the civil society alternative draft legislation on
registration and operation of CSO/NGOs in Ethiopia.
Netsanet Demessie is Executive Director and co-founder of the Ethiopian
NGO, Organisation for Social Justice in Ethiopia (OSJE), which began its
work in September 2004. OSJE was an anchor of a local network of
approximately thirty-five local NGOs and CSOs that organized to deploy
domestic monitors during the May 2005 Ethiopian National Parliamentary
elections. The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) attempted to
change its policy regarding the qualifications for domestic monitoring
within a few short weeks of the election. Netsanet was instrumental in
organizing the class action suit in April 2005 that defeated the
proposed Directive of the NEBE.
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