Dutch Court Sentences Ethiopian to Life in Prison for War Crimes
- 6 years ago
Dutch Court Sentences Ethiopian to Life in Prison for War Crimes
This is also the day for us to forgive." An Ethiopian court had sentenced Mr. Alemu to death in absentia in 2007 for his role in what became known
as the "red terror," a campaign conducted by Mr. Mengistu’s military junta after the Ethiopian emperor, Haile Selassie, was ousted in 1974.
15, 2017
THE HAGUE — A court in the Netherlands on Friday convicted an aide to a former Ethiopian dictator
and sentenced him to life in prison for war crimes carried out during Ethiopia’s "red terror" purges of the 1970s, including the execution of 75 prisoners.
In the hearings held under Dutch universal jurisdiction, Mr. Alemu, a former regional representative under the country’s leader at the time, Mengistu
Haile Mariam, was convicted of all charges brought by prosecutors, including arbitrary detention, inhumane treatment, torture and mass murder.
The Netherlands is one of the European countries that has established an international crimes prosecution unit to prosecute
people accused of war criminals who are residing in the Netherlands even if their crimes were committed abroad.
Mariette Renckens said that The fact that the majority of victims were children younger than 18 makes the crimes all the more cruel,
Mr. Mengistu was found guilty in absentia of genocide in the same trial in 2007, where he
and top members of his military government were accused of killing thousands during his 17-year rule.
Jirko Patist said that Today’s verdict shows perpetrators that the Netherlands will not be a safe haven,
This is also the day for us to forgive." An Ethiopian court had sentenced Mr. Alemu to death in absentia in 2007 for his role in what became known
as the "red terror," a campaign conducted by Mr. Mengistu’s military junta after the Ethiopian emperor, Haile Selassie, was ousted in 1974.
15, 2017
THE HAGUE — A court in the Netherlands on Friday convicted an aide to a former Ethiopian dictator
and sentenced him to life in prison for war crimes carried out during Ethiopia’s "red terror" purges of the 1970s, including the execution of 75 prisoners.
In the hearings held under Dutch universal jurisdiction, Mr. Alemu, a former regional representative under the country’s leader at the time, Mengistu
Haile Mariam, was convicted of all charges brought by prosecutors, including arbitrary detention, inhumane treatment, torture and mass murder.
The Netherlands is one of the European countries that has established an international crimes prosecution unit to prosecute
people accused of war criminals who are residing in the Netherlands even if their crimes were committed abroad.
Mariette Renckens said that The fact that the majority of victims were children younger than 18 makes the crimes all the more cruel,
Mr. Mengistu was found guilty in absentia of genocide in the same trial in 2007, where he
and top members of his military government were accused of killing thousands during his 17-year rule.
Jirko Patist said that Today’s verdict shows perpetrators that the Netherlands will not be a safe haven,