Prosecution witnesses in the coup-plot trial of Ethiopian opposition figures testified on Friday that the accused sought to foment an armed rebellion after disputed elections last year.
They told a court that leaders of the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) encouraged them to take up arms against the government.
The five witnesses to take the stand on Friday, all of whom claim to be opposition members, described a CUD rally a month before last May’s elections at which they said two of the accused predicted the government’s demise.
They said they were promised “free fertiliser and tax-free fertiliser” and were told that the ruling party would be ousted.
“The defendants told us that we had to use our axes and hoes if soldiers or policemen were coming,” said one, a 28-year-old farmer, who like the others has been granted anonymity by the court.
“But some people in the crowd answered that they only wanted peace,” he said, stressing his distaste for the alleged calls for violence to protest the election results.
Opposition protests against alleged massive electoral fraud erupted into two explosions of violence in Addis Ababa and other cities in June and November last year in which a parliamentary report says more than 200 people were killed.
The report, obtained by Agence France-Presse ahead of its official release next week, says all but six of the dead were civilians but absolves the government and security forces of using excessive force.
Authorities say the CUD was attempting to overthrow the government and nearly all of the group’s leaders are among the 111 defendants on trial for a variety of charges, including treason, genocide and conspiracy.
The defendants, some of whom could face the death penalty if convicted, have all vehemently denied the charges that have attracted international concern and condemnation from rights groups.
In the courtroom in Kaliti, just south of the capital, a second prosecution witness testified that he had been instructed by the CUD to organise a small terrorist cell to foment unrest.
“I was asked to do some organisation for a violent form of struggle,” the 51-year-old retired police officer said. “I was assigned to form a group of 13 people, to teach and train them.”
After the testimony, presiding Judge Adil Ahmed adjourned the proceedings until Tuesday when about a dozen more of the prosecution’s 316 witnesses are to appear.
“Today [Friday], we have tried to prove that the accused tried to organise a group of armed bandits to overthrow an elected government,” prosecutor said.
“They were instigated and ordered by party officials to sabotage infrastructure, organise ambushes and attack government installations,” he said. “They haven’t done it, but they have tried.” — AFP