ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia
A court sentenced 35 opposition politicians and activists, including a former Virginia professor, to life in prison and denied them the right to vote or run for public office for inciting violence in an attempt to overthrow the government, a judge said Monday.
The prosecution had called for death sentences against the defendants, who included Ethiopia's top opposition leaders and five people charged, tried and convicted in absentia. Another eight defendants facing similar charges were sentenced to between 18 months and 18 years in prison, said Judge Adil Ahmed, reading the sentences on behalf of the three-judge panel.
The judges declined to follow the recommendation of the prosecution to hand down the death penalty, Adil said.
"The court has deemed life imprisonment as a comprehensive and sufficient verdict for the actions taken," he said.
During its Monday evening news bulletin, state-owned Ethiopian Television announced that the people sentenced Monday had written to the president to ask for a pardon. The station did not give any more details.
Amnesty International said Monday the defendants reportedly signed a statement some weeks ago that was expected to lead to a pardon and reconciliation with the ruling party.
"As a matter of trying to bring together the Ethiopian people and bringing an end to this particular chapter of political turmoil, we would urge the Ethiopian authorities to strongly consider clemency for these individuals," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
All people sentenced to life imprisonment also have been permanently denied the right to vote or run for office. Those given lesser sentences were banned from office for five years.
The judges also ordered the closure of three publishing companies and fined each of them between $1,700 and $13,600.
Those facing life imprisonment include the leader of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy, Hailu Shawel; Berhanu Nega, who was elected mayor of Addis Ababa; former Harvard scholar Mesfin Woldemariam; and former U.N. special envoy and former Norfolk State University professor, Yacob Hailemariam.
