REQUEST FOR ADVISORY OPINION: PARDONED ETHIOPIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ADDIS ABABA 002635 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR CA/VO/L/A:JGORSKY, CA/VO/L/C, CA/FO JSTUFT, AF/E AND DRL:S.JOSEPH LONDON, PARIS, ROME FOR AFRICA WATCHER CJTF-HOA AND USCENTCOM FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/23/2017 TAGS: CVIS PHUM KJUS KDEM PGOV ET SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR ADVISORY OPINION: PARDONED ETHIOPIAN OPPOSITION LEADERS REF: A. ADDIS ABABA 02284 AND PREVIOUS ¶B. STATE 107869 ADDIS ABAB 00002635 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: ACTING DCM: MICHAEL C. GONZALES FOR REASON 1.4 (d). ¶1. (C) ACTION REQUEST: Per 9FAM 40.21(a) N10 "Political Offenses," Post requests formal determination from CA/VO/L/A that the convictions of Birtukan Mideksa, Gizachew Shiferaw, Hailu Araya and Biruk Kebede constitute "political offenses." These individuals have applied for NIVs, but are pending review due to prior criminal convictions. The applicants are leaders of Ethiopia's largest opposition party, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD),and were accused, convicted, sentenced and pardoned for several crimes in a trial (ref A) deemed as entirely political by Post and many others in the international community. Post requests that these convictions on purely political charges not interfere with their visa applications as they can be deemed as "obviously based on fabricated charges." ¶2. (SBU) These four individuals applied for NIV visas on August 22, 2007. ¶3. (C) A similar request was made for reinstatement of LPR status for fellow former detainees Berhanu Nega and Yacob Hailemariam. CA/VO/L/A responded favorably (ref B). -------------- -------------- BACKGROUND: 20 MONTHS OF POLITICAL TRIAL DESTABILIZES ETHIOPIA -------------- -------------- ¶4. (U) Ethiopia's third general elections under the current government took place in May 2005. The pre-election campaign period was widely hailed by the USG and others in the international community as the most democratic period in Ethiopia's history. Though there was some evidence of irregularities and voter interference, the elections were considered generally credible. The official results showed that the number of seats in the Parliament held by opposition groups rose from 12 to 172. The results indicated that the largest opposition group, the CUD, won 109 of the 172 seats. In addition, the CUD won 137 of 138 seats in the Addis Ababa city council. Despite this, opposition groups, including the CUD, alleged the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) engaged in vote rigging. Several CUD parliamentarians and many in the Addis Ababa city council boycotted and refused to take their seats until the situation was remedied, which was to include reform of key federal government institutions. ¶5. (U) Though the government had instated a ban on public demonstrations immediately following the elections, separate incidents of demonstrations turned violent in early June and early November 2005. Demonstrators were met in the streets by police and special forces of the military, leading to deadly clashes. A subsequent investigation by the GoE found that 193 civilians and 6 police officers were killed as a result. After months of threatening to arrest senior opposition leaders, GoE security services arrested ten of thousands of people suspected of organizing or participating in the demonstrations. Most were released within weeks, but a few hundred were detained and had formal charges filed against them by the GoE. These defendants included all of the top leadership of the CUD (including the applicants), several journalists and members of civil society. The charges filed against them included: "Outrages Against the Constitution," "Obstruction of the Exercise of Constitutional Power," "Inciting, Organizing or Leading an Armed Rebellion," "Impairing the Defensive Power of the State," &High Treason," and "Attempted Genocide." ¶6. (U) The prolonged trial of these high-profile detainees was closely followed by the international community and in particular by Post, who had an observer present at nearly every court session. Post, and other diplomatic missions and international NGOs repeatedly called for the immediate release of these prisoners and have publicly labeled them "political detainees." -------------- ADDIS ABAB 00002635 002.2 OF 002 SPECIFIC CHARGES AGAINST THESE APPLICANTS -------------- ¶7. (C) While some of the charges were eventually thrown out by the court, including "High Treason" and "Attempted Genocide," and some of the lower-profile detainees released, the leaders of the CUD were convicted on June 11, 2007 and sentenced to life in prison on July 16. These four applicants were among a larger group convicted of "Outrages Against the Constitution," "Obstruction of the Exercise of Constitutional Power," and "Impairing the Defensive Power of the State." Most defendants, including the CUD leadership, chose not to defend their case on the grounds that they felt that the court was under the influence of the GoE and was "illegitimate." Despite this, in Post's opinion, the evidence presented by the federal prosecution did not in any way prove that the defendants had any role in leading, organizing or taking part in the demonstrations of 2005, and that the verdicts concluded what was an entirely political trial for the CUD leadership. ¶8. (SBU) A group of negotiators, known informally as the Ethiopian Elders, quietly worked behind the scenes for many months to secure the release the detainees. Immediately following the sentencing of the CUD leadership, the GoE announced plans to grant a pardon to those convicted and who had signed a "letter of regret." Of those detained, 71 signed this statement, including all of the CUD leadership, and 38 of convicted detainees were released on July 20, including the applicants. The remaining detainees were released on August 18. YAMAMOTO