THE NETHERLANDS ETHIOPIAN “RED TERROR” SUSPECT APPEALS HIS CONVICTION Eshetu Alemu Context Ongoing proceedings against a Dutch national originally from Ethiopia, for war crimes committed in Ethiopia during the Red Terror in the late 1970s Suspect Former member of the Provisional Military Administrative Council, also known as the Dergue, during the Mengistu Haile Mariam’s regime Country of residence of suspect The Netherlands Charges War crimes, including arbitrary detention, inhuman treatment, torture, and murder of alleged opponents to the regime Developments in 2018 Eshetu Alemu appealed his conviction on 3 January 2018. On 23 April 2018, a first pre-trial hearing took place before The Hague appeals court. At the defense’s request, on 19 November 2018, the court agreed to hear a dozen witnesses in Ethiopia. An investigative judge will travel to Ethiopia, together with the defense counsel and prosecutors, to hear those witnesses. Current status Sentenced to life in prison; retrial ongoing Facts In 1974, the communist military regime, known as the Dergue, overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie I and seized power in Ethiopia. The regime effectively ruled the country for 17 years. In February 1977, the Red Terror was officially declared, which led to mass killings, arrests, torture, and disappearances of suspected political opponents. Eshetu Alemu is accused of ordering the execution of 75 people, of torturing nine people, and of controlling the illegal detention of more than 300 people in cruel and inhuman conditions in Ethiopia’s Gojjam province during the Red Terror. In 1990, he fled to The Netherlands as an asylum seeker and became a Dutch citizen in 1998. Procedure in Ethiopia On 12 December 2006, Ethiopia concluded the trial of former Dergue officials, convicting Eshetu Alemu, and 57 other regime officials of genocide and crimes against humanity. Eshetu Alemu was judged in absentia and received a death sentence. Procedure in The Netherlands Eshetu Alemu was arrested in The Netherlands in September 2015. In September 2016, 15 Ethiopian witnesses residing in the United States of America and Canada were questioned by a Dutch judge and a prosecutor. 71 Eshetu Alemu pleaded not guilty to all charges. His trial was supposed to start on 21 November 2016 in The Hague. However, it was postponed until 30 October 2017 following his decision to change lawyer. On 15 December 2017, Eshetu Alemu was found guilty of war crimes, including arbitrary detention, inhuman treatment, torture, and murders. He was sentenced to life in prison. Read more about the case