ETHIOPIA: SUPREME COURT CHIDES SEYE LAWYERS
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The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa)
June 25, 2002
Posted to the web June 26, 2002
Staff Reporter
Addis Ababa
The Federal Supreme Court has chided and warned the two lawyers representing
Seye Abraha for having failed to counsel their client against making political
pronouncements in the court.
The Supreme Court that had allowed the accused Seye Abraha to finish delivering
his pre-trial defense statement, despite the objections of the Prosecutor,
yesterday stated in its verdict that the behavior of the lawyers couldn t be
overlooked.
In a written verdict that was read out yesterday, the Federal Supreme Court
said it believed that the lawyers were aware of legal procedures and should not
have allowed their client to make political pronouncements in the court.
This is a court of law hearing a legal case and cannot be made a stage for
making political pronouncements and is not seated to listen to political
differences and views of the defendants, it said.
It warned the lawyers to refrain from allowing a similar misconduct in the
future.
Seye Abraha in his pre-trial defense statement had told the Court that there
was no corruption case against him, and that the Prosecutor, in his pre-trial
statement has not constituted any corruption case against him or has not
presented any substantive evidence to support his case.
Seye argued that the case against him was politically motivated and read out
his long argument which he asked the Court to consider as his pre-trial defense
statement.
The Court yesterday noted the fact that the lawyers did not sign on the
pre-trial defense statement of Seye Abraha, the third among the 12 accused of
corruption and graft.
Seye Abraha is a former defense minister of EPRDF and was in command during the
Ethio-Eritrean war.
In the dock with Seye Abraha was also Ato Tamrat Layne who was also Prime
Minister of the EPRDF government before he was made to step down after being
accused of corruption.
Tamrat is serving a 17-year term, but is also appearing before the Supreme
Court again accused of complicity in the crime that Seye is now accused of.
Seye Abraha s three brothers and a sister, a pharmacist by profession, are also
accused of corruption and unlawful enrichment.
The sister Timnit Abraha is accused of gaining unlawful benefits by having been
employed by the Ministry of Health as a pharmacist. The Commission is accusing
Seye Abraha of using his power to influence the decision making in his sister s
employment.
Businessmen Mr. Hiraiyer Behensilian and Ato Fitsum Zeab Asgedom are also in
this group of accused, implicated in a crime of corruption and denied bail for
over a year now.
The trial against all of them has not been technically opened yet with the case
still in its pre-trial stage.
The Supreme Court yesterday told the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption
Commission to clearly state the cases, to spell out exactly what role Mr.
Hiraiyer and Ato Fitsum played in the alleged crime, and to separate the case
into three files.
The two are businessmen who participated in the privatization process of public
enterprises.
The hearing has been deferred to July 8, 2002 to wait for the Commission to
re-organize its charge.
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