765.84/5031: Telegram
The Minister Resident in Ethiopia (Engert) to the Secretary of State
[Received 2:45 p.m.]
551. Yesterday at 1:30 p.m. while my family and I were at luncheon, nine Ethiopians whom the Italians are pleased to call “rebels” were publicly executed by a firing squad directly in front of the Legation and less than a hundred yards from one of our gates.
In a personal letter to Marshal Graziani I have protested against this outrage as showing “complete disregard of the most elementary feelings of decency and propriety” and have requested that the officer responsible for the selection of the place of execution be severely reprimanded. I added that I would not in future tolerate the perpetration of such horrors at the Legation’s doorsteps.
I shall telegraph as soon as I receive a reply.