This report covers a major political trial in Ethiopia lasting from May 2006 to March 2008, in which opposition party leaders, journalists and civil society activists were tried for crimes that carried possible death sentences. Most defendants were convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. However, all those convicted were released under presidential pardons after signing a “letter of apology”. This report focuses on an analysis of the trial in relation to international human rights standards. Amnesty International concluded that the defendants were prisoners of conscience and the trials were largely unfair.
Index Number: AFR 25/002/2011