ETHIOPIAN MINISTER OF JUSTICE DISCUSSES OPPOSITION

C O N F I D E N T I A L ADDIS ABABA 002169

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/09/2016
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV ET
SUBJECT: ETHIOPIAN MINISTER OF JUSTICE DISCUSSES OPPOSITION
TRIAL, PARDONS, AND JUDICIAL REFORM


Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES AMBASSADOR VICKI HUDDLESTON FOR REASON
S 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) Summary: In a wide ranging discussion with Minister of
Justice Assefa Kessito, COM and ConsChief learned that the
Ministry of Justice (MOJ) continues to evaluate the
feasibility of granting pardons to certain convicted
criminals for the Ethiopian New Year (September 11). The
Minister also discussed the possibility of sending a team to
the United States to meet legal experts and authorities, his
pride in the recent expansion of prosecutorial discretion,
and his confidence that the evidence from the opposition
trial will support a conviction. End Summary.


2. (C) On pardons, the Minister emphasized that there will be
no pardons for those who commit rape, corruption, genocide,
acts against humanity, or for recidivist criminals. He
advised that no pardons were granted during the time of the
Derg, but that the emperor twice used the pardon mechanism to
release convicted criminals. Currently, as there are only
629 convicted federal prisoners, he said that the regional
authorities were looking at those who, based on age, time
served, health and other factors would be considered for
release. The Minister declined to state a fixed number. On
amnesties for those not convicted of crimes, he noted that
the parliament would have to produce some kind of
proclamation. He didn,t think this was likely.


3. (C) Minister Assefa talked at length about his idea to
send to Washington, as early as September, a team of one
minister and three prosecutors, who could learn about the
structure of the attorney general,s office, possibly meet
with the attorney general, lawyers, and essentially have a
short course on either state or federal criminal procedure.
This visit would be followed by further studies in Canada and
France of their judicial systems. COM assured the Minister
that if the Ministry had the funds, our Public Diplomacy
section would assist in creating a program for them. Of
particular interest to the Minister were the different chains
of supervision for the police, prosecutors and judiciary.
Also of interest was how police investigators and prosecutors
could work more efficiently together, especially in terms of
transferring investigations to the prosecutorial branch.


4. (C) Reflecting on the changes he hoped to see in
Ethiopia,s justice system, the Minister said that in the
future he wanted the prison administration and the Ministry
of Federal Affairs to be placed under MOJ jurisdiction. Also
currently not under his jurisdiction are two commissions: the
Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption commission, and the Derg
Commission. They report directly to the prime minister. COM
and Conschief were advised that the case of the sole American
prisoner, who was charged with corruption, was under the
authority of the anti-corruption commission. As far as the
Derg commission, he thought there might be a decision in
January regarding the Derg cases, and noted that while the
Criminal code allows for capital punishment, it is not
exercised in Ethiopia.


5. (C) Minister Assefa seemed particularly proud that as
recently as a month ago prosecutors began a month ago to
exercise their discretion on seeking convictions or
dismissing cases pursuant to already existing criminal
procedures. Prosecutors also began to train the police on
how to assemble better files. He was critical of inefficient
investigations and commented that in article 23 of the 1961
criminal procedure, the police are charged with
investigations that they cannot dismiss. These investigations
may land a suspect in jail before the police have collected
evidence or even have probable cause. He noted that even if
the police thought the investigation had little or no merit,
they were compelled to proceed with little discretion to drop
the case. Thus, his apparent eagerness to send a team abroad
to examine other legal systems.


6. (C) When the COM questioned Minister Assefa about the CUD
trial, he assured the COM that one of his most important
priorities was that the trial process be conducted in
accordance with international standards, human rights,
transparency, and with speed. However, regarding the
evidentiary aspects of the case, he remained strictly on
message. He simply stated &We will win.8 He attributed
some of Western observer skepticism about the evidentiary
quality to &translation problems8, and assured the COM that
they had documents and even eyewitnesses, some of whom he
claimed were now &divorced8 from the CUD and who would help
prove the government,s case by testifying against their
former opposition partners. &There is a crime8 he
insisted, but rather than cite evidence, he proceeded to
press political points: the opposition had a plan to either
not participate in the election, or, if they did participate
and lost, to still overthrow the government; they refused
commit to the election process or to accept opinions of the

election board. CUD members chose to follow criminal paths;
rather than negotiate or take their seats, the CUD preferred
to say they won the election and instigate violence. In the
South and in the North, specifically in Gonder, the Minister
stated that armed gangs were created to topple the
government, while some CUD members worked with the Eritreans
to undermine the government. To bolster his evidentiary
argument and demonstrate that the arrests were made based on
probable cause, he said only 25 out of 60 CUD members were
arrested, thereby intimating that they could have arrested
all the CUD members if the trial were exclusively politically
motivated.


7. (C) When pressed by the COM on CUD prisoner health issues
and prisoner treatment, the minister deferred to the
authority of the courts and prison administration to resolve
those issues. The COM stated that no matter the outcome the
trial would be viewed as political, and that there must be a
resolution to this political impasse through dialogue. The
minister with palpable bitterness asserted that dialogue had
failed and then launched into a diatribe on how the
opposition CUD and OLF were trying to exacerbate ethnic
tensions, and that the Amhara were intent on imposing a
centralized ethnic hegemony over the other peoples within
Ethiopia. He stated that rather than granting nations and
nationalities within Ethiopia the right to express their own
culture and language, the CUD would cause the country to tear
apart. In contrast, the current government was determined to
create an atmosphere where all 81 linguistic peoples could
call themselves Ethiopian.

8 (C) (Comment) It appears that there is a genuine interest
to modernize and reform the judicial system, and that some
form of pardon will be granted to convicted criminals in
September. However, given the campaign-like rhetoric heard
today from the Minister when he spoke about the opposition
trial, Post may want to look at methods for achieving pardons
for soon-to-be convicted opposition leaders. (End Comment).
HUDDLESTON