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