An Ethiopian court sentenced five people to death on Tuesday and 33 others to life imprisonment for plotting to kill officials and overthrow the government. Among those with a death sentence is a resident of the Dutch town of Haarlem. But Mesfin Aman is not worried about his safety. "I have an official refugee status, and the Dutch government knows what's going on in my home country."

In April, the Ethiopian government announced it had uncovered a plot to kill government officials by a group allegedly led by the main opposition candidate in the disputed 2005 elections, Melaku Tefera.

Four convicts have now been sentenced in absentia. The fifth, Melaku Tefera, received his sentence in court. Most of the 33 sentenced to life in prison are active or retired army officers. The trial is one of the most high-profile in Ethiopia's recent history.

Rights groups say the Ethiopian government has organized a crackdown on dissenters ahead of national elections in May next year.

Election protests
"I am very sorry to say that Melaku Tefera will have to face his sentence," Mesfin Aman told Radio Netherlands. "I've talked to the other four convicts. They are safe, like me, because they have the same refugee status. One of them is in the UK, the other three are in the US."

In 2001, Aman spent several months in solitary confinement after he took part in a protest against the regime of the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi. In the aftermath of the elections in 2005, he again spent several weeks in solitary confinement, after which he was released on bail. He escaped to Kenya, and then to the Netherlands.

"That same year, the Ethiopian government sentenced me for life along with several other opposition leaders. The others were later pardoned and were asked to sign a pardon letter. Because I was in the Netherlands, I didn't know of the letter and couldn't sign. That's why I have now been given this death sentence. It's a bizarre story."

Mesfin has lived in the Netherlands as a fugitive since 2006. He is currently finishing his MBA at the Amsterdam Business School. "After the 2005 election protests, in which I took part, the UN High Commissioner invited me to stay in the Netherlands as a political refugee. I have an invited refugee status and a residence permit. I do not have the Dutch nationality yet. For that I'll have to wait for another two years."

Ethnic Domination
The 30-year-old student heard the news on Tuesday when he was called by Andargachew Tsige, one of his fellow defendants. He then checked the news on-line and realized it was true. Aman is confident that he won’t have to face his sentence: “The Dutch government follows the standard international rules and would never extradite me. They know what's going on in Ethiopia."

Aman has been politically active since he was a teenager. He chose to study political science and fight for democracy, despite the obvious dangers. "The government considers all opinions different from their own as disrespect for the constitution and a threat to their existence. They use phrases like 'attempted coup' to justify their killing of opposition members."

The most important factor in the Ethiopian government's behaviour, he says, is "ethnic domination". "In Ethiopia, we have 80 million people from five ethnic groups. Political power is concentrated in the hands of one ethnic group, which accounts for around 6 percent of the population. That causes a huge political imbalance.”