Ethiopia has changed the death sentences of 23 of former dictator Mengistu's henchmen, convicted of genocide, to a sentence of life imprisonment.

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The high-profile figures from the Mengistu-era were sentenced to death for the murder of thousands during a 17-year rule that included famine, war and the "Red Terror" purges of suspected opponents.

The former senior officers were convicted after a 12-year trial that ruled Mengistu's government was directly responsible for the deaths of 2,000 people and the torture of at least 2,400.

They have been behind bars since 1991 and have publicly apologised for their crimes.

Remorse
Ethiopian President Girma Woldegiorgis announced the act of clemency on Wednesday following an appeal for leniency by a panel of heads of religious institutions, as well as an expression of remorse by those convicted.

A government spokesman said: "The process was not retributive, it was meant to ensure fairness and justice. Many of them have served lengthy prison terms and have asked the government for a commutation of the death sentence."

He said the process guaranteed the maintenance of the rule of law in Ethiopia. "Ethiopia has come to terms with its past."

Mengitsu's regime
Mengistu seized power in 1974 after the overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie, and quickly clawed his way to the top in the military junta known as the Derg.

His regime's brutality was exemplified by the Red Terror purges of 1977-78, in which at least 1,200 suspected political opponents were murdered and their bodies dumped in the streets as a warning to others.

Mengistu was among 25 defendants tried in absentia in 2008. Of the 73 accused, 14 had died and only 33 were present in court.

Source: Reuters