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Former Ethiopian ruler sentenced to death

Former Ethiopian ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam has been sentenced to death for genocide by Ethiopia's supreme court on Monday.

  • Agencies
  • Published: 17:57 May 26, 2008
  • Gulf News

Addis Ababa: Former Ethiopian ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam has been sentenced to death for genocide by Ethiopia's supreme court on Monday.

After a 12-year trial, Mariam has been found guilty of the genocide of thousands of killings during his17-year rule.

The court granted prosecution's appeal that the earlier sentence of life in prison was not sufficient punishment.

"Considering the prosecution's appeal that a life sentence was not commensurate to the crimes committed by the Mengistu regime, the court decided to sentence him to death," the court said in its ruling.

Mengistu has lived in exile in Zimbabwe since abandoning power in 1991, and will most likely escape punishment unless Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe loses a run-off election next month.

The sentence will be carried out pending the head of state's approval.

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