An Ethiopian court on Wednesday denied bail to a group of 131 detained Ethiopian opposition figures and journalists who face treason and other charges relating to an alleged plot to overthrow the government after disputed elections.
Amid protests from the accused, Federal High Court Judge Adil Ahmed said the counts were too serious to allow their provisional release and adjourned the case until next month to give the defendants time to consult with lawyers.
“After examining the arguments on the bail request by the defence and the prosecution, we have reached a decision that since the charges against the defendants could carry a minimum penalty of 15 years in jail, we have turned down their request of bail,” he said.
“We have decided to adjourn the hearing until February 23, 2006 in order to give them a chance to consult with their lawyers and to hire lawyers for those who cannot afford them for themselves,” Adil said.
Members of the group — who include nearly the entire leadership of the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) and 22 journalists — refused last week to plead to the charges, which include treason, conspiracy to topple a constitutional government and genocide.
They have complained they have been denied access to attorneys since their arrests in November in a massive crackdown following a second explosion of deadly violence during protests over alleged election fraud.
The CUD claims the May 15 polls were rigged by the ruling party.
Berhanu Nega, a senior CUD official, renewed that complaint on Wednesday and accused the court of impropriety in the case which has sparked international concern.
“If the court is not ready to hear our complaints and does not give us a chance to speak, we do not want this court to judge us or to handle our case,” he said as other defendants applauded in the courtroom packed with diplomats, families of the accused, journalists and security officers.
As family members wept openly at the denial of bail, Adil refused to hear the statement.
“We can allow you [to talk] only if you are going to answer to questions or charges levelled against you. Otherwise the court is not ready to listen to statements which have no relevance to the case,” the judge said.
“At the same time it is not a place to make political lectures or statements.”
Defence lawyers had been arguing for bail to be granted because the prosecution has not released any evidence to support the charges, which the opposition maintains are political.
Prosecutors on Wednesday asked the judge to move the proceedings from the court, which is located among several schools and far from the prison where the defendants are being held, to another but unspecified facility for reasons of security and convenience. There was no indication when a ruling on that might be made.
The charges have been denounced by human rights groups, press freedom watchdogs and many foreign donors who fear that the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, once a darling of Western lenders, is backtracking on democratic commitments.
Last week, the European Union said it was moving to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance to aid-dependent Ethiopia due to democracy concerns.
Meles maintains the CUD leadership and its supporters were trying to provoke the violent overthrow of the government through poll protests.
Those protests twice sparked clashes in and around the capital, killing at least 85 people in June and November last year.
The CUD won 109 seats in the 547-member Parliament in the election but says it was robbed of victory by fraud. The coalition is boycotting the legislature and has urged a campaign of civil disobedience to press for new elections. – AFP