He was arrested on 8 July 2014, during what the Committee to Protect Journalists described as a ‘mass crackdown on opposition leaders and social media activists ahead of the 2015 elections.’ He was held without charge until October 2014 when he was finally charged under the ATP (Anti terrorism proclamation) with terrorism-related offences. His alleged activities included facilitating and organising a digital security training in order to terrorize the country, being a member of the diaspora-based opposition group Ginbot 7 (which the government has designated a terrorist group) and using social media to recruit members for Ginbot 7, allegedly to bring about an Arab Spring-style revolution and violently dismantle the Ethiopian constitution. He was charged alongside a group of nine other defendants that included a number of active politicians and social media activists.
According to news reports, the digital security training that Workagegnehu organized did not end up taking place. Reports also indicated that no evidence was provided regarding his alleged links to Ginbot 7. Zelalem himself denied being affiliated with any political party and stated that he believes in non-violent change. According to a news report, one of the defendants that had originally been charged alongside Workagegnehu testified at a hearing that he had advised Workagegnehu to ‘confess’ in order to avoid being beaten, as he himself was. Zelalem also suggested that the witness used by the prosecution was released after agreeing with the police to testify against him. According to reports, Workagegnehu’s lawyer was disqualified in June 2015 for one year and six months for ‘ethical issues’ leading Workagegnehu to represent himself during the rest of his trial.
During his trial Workagegnehu claimed that he was kept in custody in an extremely cold room called “Siberia” in the notorious Maekelawi Detention Centre, where detainees are known to be tortured and otherwise ill-treated, and stated that his ‘confessions’ were taken under duress and torture. News reports suggest that Workagegnehu suffers from severe eye pain due to the beatings he underwent. His friend and one of his co-defendants, Bahiru Degu, also claimed that he was beaten and forced to strip naked.
The charges against Zelalem Workagegnehu were eventually changed from article 4 to article 7 of the ATP and some of the accusations dropped, and he was found "guilty" on 15 April 2016 of violating article 7(1), in relation to allegedly recruiting members for Ginbot 7. He was sentenced to five years and two months in prison on 10 May 2016 by the Lideta Federal High Court. Yoantan Wolde and Bahiru Degu, two of his friends and aspiring bloggers who were charged under his case file with applying to participate in Workagegnehu’s training, were acquitted on 15 April 2016 after spending more than 600 days in prison on terrorism-related charges. Two others were sentenced alongside Workagegnehu, and the other five were acquitted in August 2015.
Workagegnehu was originally held in Kilinto prison but has reportedly been transferred to Zeway Prison, 140 km South of Addis Ababa. His appeal hearing is scheduled for 6 July 2016 and will be heard via TeleCourt, a videoconferencing and satellite internet remote trial system.
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