Ethiopia: Trial of opposition activists adjourned

The trial of Ethiopian opposition supporters, journalists and human rights activists has been adjourned after the federal high court rejected an application by three of the 129 defendants to have a separate trial. Judge Adil Ahmed ruled that the three defendants - two employees of the British nongovernmental organisation ActionAid and a teacher - would not be tried separately because doing so would delay the entire proceeding, in which the accused face wide-ranging charges including conspiracy, treason and genocide. "We have examined your request for a separate trial based on the country's penal code which stipulates how charges should be pressed against a defendant and when a separate trial is appropriate. We have found that the charges are in line with the penal code," Adil said on Wednesday (March 1).