Justice cannot be served in the absence of an Independent Court
Press Release February 19, 2007
KIL-007/07
The long awaited ruling on the trumped up
charges against Coalition for Unity and
Democracy Party (CUDP) leaders, civil society
advocates and human rights defenders has been
postponed once again. In a Press Release issued
a week ago, CUDP had warned the Ethiopian people
that a political decision has already been made
by Meles Zenaw’s inner circle to postpone the
decision and the hand picked judges will be
rubberstamping that decision today.
True to form, the presiding kangaroo court Judge
Adil Mohamed adjourned the court until March 5th
and ordered for the following documents:
1. The translation into Amharic of the press
conference, given by Engineer Hailu Shawel
shortly after the elections, at the National
Press Club in Washington D.C.
2. The translation of written documents into
Amharic from websites, apparently to be provided
to all defendants at the next hearing
3. The final May 2005 election reports from the
National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE)
The long running sham trial and today’s ruling
provides us with an incontrovertible evidence
that the dictatorial regime of Meles Zenawi is
making a mockery of the justice system in
Ethiopia. To replace this corrupt dictatorial
system with a system in which the rule of law
reigns supreme in Ethiopia is the long bitter
struggle ahead of us. It is a foregone
conclusion that justice will never be served in
Ethiopia and that prisoners of conscience will
languish in EPRDF/TPLF jails, so long as
dictators and judges who carry out their diktats
are part and parcel of the corrupt system.
The tyrannical regime of Meles Zenawi has a long
and sordid history not only with miscarriage of
justice, but with litigating political opponents
for years and years so that they will either
languish in jail or die of ill health. And
Ethiopians are very much aware of this time
tested TPLF modus operandi. Thus, it is the
moral imperative of the Ethiopian people to
dismantle this evil conspiracy against its
elected representatives, the free press
journalists who have worked relentlessly and
heroically as the" people's voice” and human
rights defenders who have incessantly advocated
respect for the rule of law.
Ethiopians at home and in the Diaspora have no
other choice but to continue the struggle with
renewed commitment and determination to free all
prisoners of conscience and to free themselves
as well from the iron grip of EPRDF/TPLF’s
dictatorship. It is each and every Ethiopian’s
solemn duty and historic responsibility to
reject dictatorship in all its virulent forms
and to embrace democracy.
We appeal to the international community to be
on the side of the Ethiopian people in their
struggle for the release of the political
prisoners and do whatever is in their reach to
pressurize EPRDF/TPLF government.
The struggle for peace, democracy, the rule of
law and reconciliation will continue!
Justice will prevail in Ethiopia one day soon!
Coalition for Unity and
Democracy Party