Zelalem Workageneghu
On April 15, 2016, the Ethiopian Federal High Court acquitted
two men, Yoantan Wolde and Bahiru Degu, who spent more than 600 days
incarcerated on terrorism charges that critics allege were politically
motivated. Zelalem Workagenehu,
a third man, was not so lucky. He was convicted and will be sentenced
on May 10. (On April 26, the public prosecutor submitted a sentence
aggravation statement to the court, and Zelalem was asked to file a
sentence mitigation letter on his part.) Zelalem is a human rights
advocate and a scholar who regularly contributed to the diaspora-run
website DeBirhan.
All three were accused under Ethiopia's Anti-Terror Proclamation,
which was adopted in July 2009. State officials defend the law,
saying it is modeled on existing legislation in countries such as the
United Kingdom.
Yonatan Wolde and Bahiru Degu were released after spending 647
days—almost two years—in prison, demonstrating a disturbing trend in
Ethiopia where prisoners of conscience are locked away for long periods
without a trial.
In what seemed to be a show of brute force, plainclothes security
officers re-arrested Yonatan and Bahiru shortly after they left
prison on April 18. The two men were held overnight at Maekelawi
(Central) Prison, before being released again and warned that they're
still under observation.They were also told by the securities “They
would be killed if they made any moves,” their relatives say.
Zelalem was initially charged in October 2014, along with a group of
nine other defendants that included Internet users, opposition
politicians, and activists. So far, seven people in this group have been
acquitted after spending more than a year in jail, after which they
signed what they now say were false confessions, in order to escape
further torture.
The charges against Zelalem include leading a terrorist organization (which is how the government came to define Ginbot 7, a pro-democracy political party founded by Berhanu Nega),
conspiring to overthrow the government, and disseminating false
information through reports on websites run by the diaspora. For
instance, one of Zelalem's coauthors on the
De Birhan Blog was also implicated in the case.
The case was later reduced to two charges: recruiting members to start an Arab-Spring-like revolution in Ethiopia
and
co-facilitating what the government says was a “training operation to
terrorize the country.” (Zelalem says it was actually a training camp to
build digital communication, social media, and leadership.)
Yonatan and Bahiru were charged with applying to the participate
in Workagenehu's training camp, and suspected of joining Ginbot 7. (They
denied these accusations.)
In his ruling, the judge reportedly said that applying to or
participating in such training exercises was not illegal and so
Yonatan and Bahiru should be acquitted. Despite their two years behind
bars, Yonatan and Bahiru aren't entitled to any form of compensation.
It's not yet clear if they intend to press the matter in court.
Bahiru Degu, who attended his former co-defendant's trial last week, struggles the most among the three men. He told the court he experienced extensive torture during the first three months of his detention:
"I was forced to get naked and was regularly beaten. Due
to the severity of the beating, I was unable to control my bowels [sic].
I was forced to drink my own urine."
Like Bahiru Degu, Zelalem Workagenehu and Yonatan Wolde also told the court about the severity of the torture committed against them in prison, saying guards were trying to force them to sign false confessions. A recent report published
by Human Rights Watch revealed that Ethiopian investigators and police
do abuse journalists and opposition activists, in order to extract
confessions:
"Police investigators at Maekelawi use coercive methods on
detainees amounting to torture or other ill-treatment to extract
confessions, statements, and other information from detainees. Detainees
are often denied access to lawyers and family members. Depending on
their compliance with the demands of investigators, detainees are
punished or rewarded with denial or access to water, food, light, and
other basic needs."
Source- Global voices