136. The Complainants state that Dergue officials were treated as if they were guilty of the offences with which they were charged even before their guilt was established by a competent court. They argue that statements from the Respondent State at the pre-trial and trial period clearly demonstrate the government‟s hostility and bias towards the Victims. 137. The Complainants state that while the SPO gathered evidence and the Respondent State trained and appointed judges, the former Dergue Officials were subjected to „massive media propaganda and untold defamation by top government officials and their cadres‟.26 They state that the SPO repeatedly appealed to the public through the Government media and promised to pay compensation, house rent and jobs to people who were willing to testify against the former Dergue Officials. It states that workshops and mass demonstrations were organized and red-terror victims committees set up to help in gathering evidence against the former Dergue Officials. They say that Prime Minister Meles Zenawi also repeatedly stated that having the former Dergue Officials punished was part and parcel of their armed struggle and that whatever these officials did in hours of darkness „would be retaliated through the courts and in the manner he so desires in broad daylight‟. 138. The Complainants also state that talking to the New York Times about the activities of the Dergue regime, the Special Prosecutor Girma Wakjira stated that "it was not simply eliminating your enemy, it was showing savagery at its utmost."27 They stated that the hostility and bias continued even after their trial and in a letter addressed to the Ministry of External Affairs, the Special Prosecutor stated: “The genocide started as soon as the Derg came to power and only stopped in May 1991, when the Derg was military (sic) defeated and removed from power.28 139. Quoting the Respondent State submissions on the Merit, they observe that its own submissions disclose that: “All these unlawful acts 26 See page 2 of letter dated April 14, 2004, written by Filke Selassie Wogderes to Commissioner Dr. Vera MlangazuwaChirwa. 27 See James c. Mckinley Jr.: Ethiopia Tries Former Rulers In 70's Deaths, The New York Times, April 23, 1996, available on http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E6D81F39F930A15757C0A960958260 , last accessed 02/04/08. 28 See Letter Ref. No. 3-1/581/99 dated 12 August 2007 from the Office of the SPO and addressed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Deferal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, especially paragraphs 1.1 to 1.10. It is attached to the Ethiopian Government‟s brief on the merits. The letter accuses the Derg officials committing heinous crimes. 29