Ethiopia: Death sentence in Kamilat’s case overturned
Kamilat Mehdi, 21, had a bright future
ahead of her. She dreamt about doing a
degree and becoming an air hostess
16 November, 2008
(Reporter) The federal prosecution last week cancelled the death sentence which the Third Bench of the Federal High Court had passed against Demisew Zerihum, the man who was accused of attempted murder on a young woman called Kamilat Mehdi two years ago.
The Third Criminal Bench of the Federal High Court had sentenced Demisew Zerihun to death and his accomplice to 20 years in prison in February after it convicted them of committing attempted murder and causing bodily harm against Kamilat Mehdi on December 27, 2006.
While the acid burn Kamilat survived had excited the wrath of the public, so the death sentence passed on Demisew was questioned for its validity and fairness.
The court said that it had considered the testimony of Yekatit 12 Hospital and the Ethiopian Drug Administration and Control Authority regarding the nature of the acid which gave Kamilat a third-degree burn.
Witnesses said that the sample of sulfuric acid the authority tested in laboratory was found in the jerry can that Demisew dropped around the bus station. However, the court observed the fact that Kamilat’s sisters had testified that Demisew threw acid from a jug and not a jerry can. Besides, no witness actually saw Demisew holding the jerry can from which the acid sample was found or pouring from it into a jug, the court said.
The court claimed that it found the laboratory test results by the Drug Administration and Control Authority irrelevant as an evidence against the defendant as the sample was taken neither from the face of the victim nor from the very jug from which the defendant threw it.
The court said that tests did not prove that the chemical splashed on Kamilat’s face was actually sulfuric acid except that it was some strong acid.
The court had found out that the chemical was not potent enough to cause death and therefore the defendant can not be charged with attempted murder, but with causing severe bodily harm. It found no indication that the defendant had intended to kill the plaintiff.
If Demisew’s intent had been to kill Kamilat, he could have used a more lethal weapon. It was clear from the fact that he threw the acid on her face that he intended to disfigure her appearance permanently.
It is to be recalled that a lawyer The Reporter spoke to eight months ago had raised a question on the appropriateness of the charge leveled against Demisew saying, “If [Demisew] had intended to kill her, could he not have found a weapon more lethal than an acidic mixture? What if his intension was only to permanently damage her looks? Would not that have made the charges causing bodily harm rather than attempted murder?” (Saturday, 9 February 2008)
The court said that the defendant’s intent to permanently destroy Kamilat’s appearance showed the extent of his cruelty for which it sentenced him to 20 years in prison.
Yakob Haile, who had been sentenced to 20 years in prison for cooperating with Demisew, was set free as the court decided that the charges brought against him were not convincing.
Kamilat’s sisters had testified that Yakob walked into their midst by the road side swaying like a drunken man and separating Kamilat from them to make her an easy target for the acid.