Four former government officials have been convicted “in absentia” of crimes against humanity. The four were given sentences ranging from seven years up to life imprisonment, Ethiopian radio reported last week. Moges Debela and Dr Zelalem Gobeze were accused of torturing a young man to death when they were serving as local council guards under the former regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam. Wolde Emanuel Habib was sentenced to seven years’ “rigorous imprisonment” for collaborating in the torture. Nigussie Kassaye was sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment for causing the death of a person he detained. Ethiopia was the first African country to initiate “crimes against humanity” charges against hundreds of former officials, many of whom fled the country when the coalition Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Forces (EPRDF) took over in 1991. Some 600 former officials and agents remain in detention in Addis Ababa awaiting trial.
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