56 | P age b The special prosecutor office had brought total of 5198 public and military officials of the Derge regime in 1997, among them 2952 were charged in absentia and 2246 were charged in detention. 253 SPO charged those accused in three different categories (the policymakers, the field commanders and the material offenders) and several types of crimes (Genocide, War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity, torture, aggravated Homicide, rape, forced disappearance, and abuse of power). 254 Nevertheless all the issues raised in the major trail like the case between SPO v. Colonel Mengistu H/marial et al and SPO v. Shaleka Melaku Tefera are also raised all other trails. 255 Due to this these two cases are used for this paper. In the case between SPO v. Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam et al total of 106 persons were accused of four main charges with several counts based on the 1957 penal code. 256 The important indictments under this case are count 172-174 which fall under the second charge of Genocide by causing bodily harm or serious injury to the physical or mental healthy under article a and alternatively as Grave Willful Injury under article 538/a/b/c. The indictments simply mentioned the causing of bodily harm or serious injury to the physical or mental healthy by using the statement or phrase different methods of torture on 99 person in paces called Special Investigation Police Office, Central Investigation Institution and Bermuda which is found in Addis Abeba kebel 12. According to the SPO witnesses several methods of torture were employed against the victims listed in the charge. Among other the forms of torture, whipping with an electric cable or leather whip after binding the victims legs and hands and stuffing objects into their mouths whipping while the victim is suspended keeping abound victim suspended for longtime torture by electric shock applying a burning newspaper to the body pulling out hair mutilating the body rubbing a dry body or bones with a wooden board stretching nails and nipples with pincers pulling out fingernails killing or torturing others in the presence of the victim frightening by setting dogs on a person taking victim fora false execution suspending heavy objects from men‟s genitals G. Alemu, note 249, 76. ibid. G. Alemu, note 201, 2. 256 Mengistu et al. (Revised Indictment of 27 November 1996). ibid 102-105 (Emphasis added.
