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Africa Horn
EthiopiaÂ’s ex-ruler Mengistu sentenced to life
2007-01-12
ADDIS ABABA - An Ethiopian court spared former Marxist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam from the death penalty on Thursday, sentencing him to life in prison for genocide during a 17-year rule stained by “Red Terror” purges.

It is unlikely Mengistu, now nearing 70, will serve any prison time after the government in Zimbabwe, where he has been exiled for 16 years, said it would not extradite him.
Birds of a feather, professional courtesy, etc.
After a 12-year trial, Mengistu was found guilty in absentia last month of killing thousands of people during his years in power, which began with ousting Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 and included war, brutal purges and famine.

“Considering the age of the accused ... and the state of their health ... the court has rejected the prosecution’s call for the death penalty and passed life imprisonment,” a panel of judges told the court in Addis Ababa.
Since when should the defendant's health matter? If he's alive before, he'll be dead after.
“The court also decided that passing the death sentence on people who are aged and suffering from sickness could not be considered as jurisprudence but rather as a vendetta.” The prosecution said it had appealed against the sentence.

Mengistu fled to Zimbabwe in 1991 after he was toppled by guerrillas led by now Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Zimbabwe’s acting Minister of Information and Publicity Paul Mangwana said the sentence “does not change anything”. “He still remains our guest. We do not have any request for extradition as far as I know,” he added.
"And we don't want to establish any precedents."
Some in Ethiopia criticised the sentence. “As a Christian, I forgive, but as an Ethiopian and a victim of the Derg’s nightmarish rule, I will never forget it,” said Mulugeta Asrat, whose father was killed by Mengistu’s Derg junta. “Today’s sentence makes a mockery of justice. Mengistu no doubt will be opening a bottle in Zimbabwe.”
Posted by:Steve White

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