By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Ethiopian-born, Bashir Makhtal, was charged with being a member of the  separatist group, Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), which is fighting for the independence of an ethnically Somali part of the country.

The conviction is debated because human rights groups say the prosecution failed to produce credible evidence and witnesses proving Bashir’s guilt.  The prosecution was pushing for him to be executed, but the judges decided against it, sentencing him to life in prison instead.

In response to the allegations of a one sided trial, the Ethiopian government has denied the trial was unfair in any way.

Bashir denies being the leader of the separatist group, saying he was prosecuted because his grandfather had helped fund the rebel group decades ago. Bashir, a 40-year-old Canadian left Ethiopia at age 11 and does not speak the local Amharic language.

“In fact, I am a victim of the ONLF,” said Bashir when he testified at his trial.

In 2006 Bashir was among dozens of people arrested when Ethiopia invaded Somalia.  His family in Canada says he was held in solitary for almost two years with no access to lawyers or embassy officials.  Bashir’s relatives also said he was a businessman, selling second-hand clothing in Kenya and that he was in Mogadishu on a business trip when the he was captured.

“The only hope that I have now is the government of Canada,” said Bashir. “I don’t see any fair treatment here and won’t see any … as long as I’m in their hands.”

Regardless, the Addis Ababa court found him guilty on four charges. He was found guilty of being a member of the ONLF central committee, for recruiting and training members of the ONLF at a military camp, for leading a contingent of the ONLF in the field, and for collaborating with Somalia’s Union of Islamic Courts in Eritrea in an effort to overthrow the Ethiopian government.

Bashir’s lawyers plan to appeal against the conviction.
For more information, please see:

AFP – Ethiopia Jails Canadian for Life on Terror Charges – 3 August 2009

BBC – Ethiopia Jails Canadian For Life – 3 August 2009

Reuters – Ethiopia Jails Canadian ONLF Rebel for Life – 3 August 2009

The Toronto Star – Canadian Gets Life Sentence in Ethiopia on Terror Conviction