38 Are Convicted in Ethiopia After Political Crackdown

NAIROBI, June 11 -- An Ethiopian court found 38 prisoners guilty Monday of charges ranging from "outrage against the constitution" to aggravated high treason in a trial the prisoners called a sham, and which international human rights groups have roundly condemned.

The convictions came even as U.S. officials had been negotiating for months behind the scenes for the prisoners' release.

The prisoners' families and others have accused the U.S. government of softening criticism of Ethiopia's human rights record in light of the country's recent military intervention to oust a radical Islamic movement in Somalia. The U.S. government supported that intervention.

"The U.S. government will not pressure the government here because they have an interest in Somalia," said a relative of one of the prisoners, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of being harassed by Ethiopian security forces. "It really is a big disappointment."

The prisoners were among an estimated 30,000 people arrested in a government crackdown following national elections two years ago.

Though opposition candidates made significant gains, they contested some of the results. When protesters began rallying in the streets, Ethiopian security forces responded with ferocity, spraying crowds with bullets, killing at least 193 people. In some instances, sharpshooters targeted certain opposition leaders, according to a government commission report.

Some of the victims were killed with a single bullet wound to the head. Among the other victims was a 14-year-old boy killed during demonstrations, and his brother, who was shot from behind when he ran out to help him. The wife of an opposition candidate was gunned down outside her house, in front of her children and her husband, who was being arrested, the commission report said.

The report found that the protesters were unarmed and that the government used excessive force.

After an international outcry, most of the 30,000 prisoners were released, but others, including the 38 found guilty Monday, remained in jail on charges that at one point included genocide.

Amnesty International called them prisoners of conscience.

According to family members, efforts by U.S. officials in the region were compromised by an apparent desire not to offend the government of a key military ally in the unstable Horn of Africa. The families said U.S. officials encouraged them to persuade their imprisoned relatives to sign a letter of apology to the Ethiopian government as part of a deal securing their release.

The prisoners refused to admit any guilt, however, and the 18-month-long trial proceeded.