By VOA and Ethiomedia
ADDIS ABABA - A federal court erupted in anger on Friday as a jailed army general who was once exalted as a war hero during the 1998-2000 Ethiopia-Eritrea War told the court that he lost his left eye during a torture which he said was rife among other defendants jailed with him, Voice of America (VOA) has reported.

The retired army general is accused along with others of "conspiring to overthrow the constitutional order by force" - a common accusation the government uses whenever it wants to brutally crush dissenting voices or individuals suspected of harboring dissenting views.
When the political prisoners appeared in court, the army general began to appeal to the court to tell his side of the story. The court declined his plea.

"All of a sudden, the prisoners stood up together and said in one voice: 'Let's be heard,'" according to Meleskachew Amaha, a VOA correspondent who covered the court event.
Addressed by his civilian title "Ato," Asmainew Tsige Tebeje, the former army general who is the second defendant on the list, told the court that he was tortured and had lost his left eye to beatings. "At this time, the court erupted in cries and wailings of the crowd," VOA said, forcing the judge to suspend session for a few minutes. All except prosecutors, lawyers and security personnel were ordered to leave the court.
The VOA said when the media were allowed to return to the court, Asaminew was telling the court about his harrowing story, the injuries he suffered in the hands of his torturers he identified by their names.
The defendant said he had cuts to his neck and an injured throat when his torturers pulled off his necklace and tore the skin.
Asaminew appealed to the court to be treated by an independent doctor, for human rights organizations to investigate his condition, to end his solitary confinement and transfer him to join other inmates, and finally a legal action to be taken against those who committed the crime of torture.
A fourth defendant on the list, Major Mekonnen Worku, also told the court he was beaten in jail, showing off his injuries on his arms and legs. The court then asked the prison administration to respond to the accusations of torture and beatings.
The prison official said the accusations were wild stories intentionally concocted to tarnish the good image of the prison administration.
The court told the defendants, which the government alleges are members of the banned Ginbot 7 movement, to submit in writing all the crimes they faced behind bars. It also ordered the prison administration to investigate the crimes, and return to court with its finding. VOA said the court was adjourned for November 23, 2009.
Courts have little or no independence in Ethiopia and are often portrayed as the instruments of repression of the Meles Zenawi regime.