The Mengistu Genocide Trial in Ethiopia

This article analyses the sentencing judgment issued on 11 January2007 by the Ethiopian Federal High Court in the case of MengistuHailemariam and his co-accused who had been tried, among others,on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. This wasthe first African trial where an entire regime was brought tojustice before a national court for atrocities committed whilein power. Twenty-five of the 55 accused found guilty, includingMengistu, were tried in absentia (Mengistu remains in exilein Zimbabwe). The trial took 12 years, making it one of thelongest ever trials for genocide. In December 2006, Mengistuwas convicted by majority vote of genocide and crimes againsthumanity pursuant to Article 281 of the 1957 Ethiopian PenalCode, which includes ‘political groups’ among thegroups protected against genocide. A dissenting judge took theposition that the accused should have been convicted of aggravatedhomicide because the relevant part of the provision had beenrepealed. A few weeks later, the Court, by majority, sentencedthe top tier of the accused to life imprisonment, taking intoaccount certain extenuating circumstances. If not for these,the death penalty would have been imposed. In addition to ensuringsome accountability, the judgment is important for providingan official and detailed account of what happened in those yearsin Ethiopia under Mengistu's reign. Given that in Ethiopia thereare no official gazettes where court judgments are published,it is unlikely that the public will be able to read the judgmentand thus become aware of what had happened. In addition to analysingthe reasoning of the court, this article also looks into theprevailing political circumstances in the country and reflectsupon the trial and the reception that this important decisionhas had, and will receive, in the wider community.