25 December 2007
Addis Ababa — After more than two years in prison, Netsanet Demissie and Daniel Bekele - both coordinators of Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) in Ethiopia - were on Monday found guilty of inciting the violence that followed the May 2005 election the opposition said was rigged.
Daniel and Netsanet are the last two accused in the high profile Ethiopian trial that originally charged 131 politicians, journalists, organisations and civil society leaders.
The dios have been detained since November 2005 on charges of conspiracy and "outrage against the constitution and constitutional order." "The court finds Netsanet Demisse and Daniel Bekele guilty of inciting uprising and distributing anti-government flyers," Judge Adil Ahmed told the court.
They face up to 10 years jail in sentencing set to take place on Wednesday.
The prosecution said on Monday it would push for the stiffest punishment because the defendants were educated and knew what they were doing.
Their verdict has been delayed four times since final statements were presented in August. Daniel and Netsanet have been denied bail throughout their trial.
The defendants were involved in deploying observers at polling stations in and around the capital Addis Ababa.
But the two activists had refused to sign a formal apology, preferring to fight their case in court.
In a statement following the court verdict, Netsanet said: "Whatever we did during the election, we did with the good and honest intention of respecting the constitution of our country."
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