59 |
P age b
that the accused persons establish and provide illegal detention and investigation center and institutions for their well functioning by providing officials and executing personnel.
264
They establish some unknown or secret place of investigation indifferent part of the country including
Addis Abeba, Jimma, Hawassa, Shashemene, and Gonder.
FGA alleged that in those unknown and the legal federal police investigation center known as mehikelawi several acts of torture were committed against suspects of different crimes for the purpose of extracting information, confession, coercing them to testify against their peers, and forcing them to serve as spy. Among the acts that are alleged by the FGA starving (denying food, detaining in darkroom, electric shocks, suspending plastic with water on men gentiles, pulling out nails by pincer, suspending victims for longtime in the wall, whipping the inner part of the leg with an electric cable or leather whip after binding the victims legs and hands what is called „wefe lala‟) and stuffing objects (like socks, scarves with blood) into their mouths, whipping while the victim is suspended pulling out hair and other tortuous acts not mentioned here are the most and major acts listed repeatedly inmost charges.
265
All of the accused are charged with crime of abuse of power as per Article 407 of the criminal code for acts committed before 2015 and article 9 of corruption crimes proclamation No. 881/2015 for acts committed during and after 2015 as principal offender based on article 32
(1) (ab) of the criminal code. All the charges (46) stated that the criminal acts were committed with intent to injury the rights of another. The accused raised no preliminary objection against the charge, rather stated they do not have preliminary objections.
266
The prosecutors prefer article 407 (1, 2) of the criminal code and 9 (1, 2, and 3) of the corruption crimes proclamation based on the following reasons. First, the accused do not fall under the scope of article 424. This is to mean that the accused do not have power to arrest, detain and investigate or interrogate the victims. Second, they do not have a legal power to establish detaining and investigating institution in their own. Thirdly, although the acts constitute crimes of torture under international law, we do not have a separate crime of torture in the criminal code and other laws. Finally, ibid see particularly charge No. 1 and 2 of the indictment. See for instance charge 10, 24, 26, 32 and 39 in the indictment against Getachew Assefa et al.
266
FGA v Getachew Assefa et al. (Ruling on Preliminary Objection of July 2019) Federal High Court, file No.
23840.
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