Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa)
Samson Haileyesus
6 June 2011
Tesfaye woldesellassie (Col), former head of intelligence in the Derg government, died on Saturday, June 4, 2011.
A few days before, on June 1, the death sentence of Tesfaye and 22 other former Derg officials was commuted to life in prison by President Girma Woldegiorgis.
Former Derg officials, including Mengistu Hailemariam (Col), were found guilty of genocide after a 12-year trial that ended in December 2006. Mengistu, who is in exile in Zimbabwe, was tried in absentia and his death sentence has not been commuted.
The decision to pardon the officials from the death penalty followed an appeal for clemency from religious leaders earlier this year, and caused some controversy.
Tesfaye is believed to have died of an illness that had not been identified at the time of writing.
The Derg junta seized power in 1974 after toppling Emperor Haile Selassie. In 1977, Mengistu assumed power of the leadership until 1991, when the Derg was overthrown by EPRDF rebels.
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Former Derg Intel Chief Dies Days After Death Row Pardon