Court rules Colonel Gemechu Ayana et. al remain under custody despite closing case file

 Court rules Colonel Gemechu Ayana et. al remain under custody despite closing case file

The federal supreme court on Wednesday closed the case file of Colonel Gemechu Ayana, senior Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), and four other ranking members of the party after the defense team filed complaints of human rights violations and defiance of court orders by prosecutors and the police. Only 3 of the defendants including Colonel Gemechu was arraigned in court today and the whereabouts of the remaining two defendants are “unknown”, lawyer Milkiyas Bulcha.

In November last year, the prosecutor filed an appeal against the defendants in Colonel Gemechu’s file at the federal supreme court six months after he and 13 other OLF members were acquitted of terrorism charges. The prosecutor filed an appeal at the federal supreme court to overturn the decision made by the federal high court. The federal high court dismissed the prosecutor’s evidence that included tapped phone conversations which are no longer admissible in court as per the new proclamation 1176/2012.

During the next consecutive sessions, the defense team filed complaints to the court detailing the human rights violations their clients suffered due to several unlawful arrests and rearrests, according to Milkiyas. He added that the defense team complained to the court about how the prosecutor collaborated with the police to keep their clients under detention by force for over 6 months defying court orders.

The lawyers also accused the federal attorney general of failing to dispose of its duties of addressing the rights violations of the defendants while they were in detention. “We demanded our clients to be freed. Our clients were not only unlawfully hailed but were also prevented from meeting their defense team,” he said.

The defense team demanded that their clients should be set free and follow the case from outside, Milkiyas said, further expressing doubts about the autonomy of the court. The defense team demanded that all those in the justice system from the federal attorney general to the police be held accountable as per civil and criminal code, the lawyer explained.

The judges then decided to suspend the prosecutor’s appeal and ordered the prosecutor to provide an explanation and launch an investigation into the alleged rights violations. Milkiyas explained that the court decided that the defendants to remain under custody since “they don’t know who arrested them.”

“It is odd that the court doesn’t know who jailed our defendants. We will file a complaint at the judicial administration council,” Milkiyas said, adding, “Our clients were transferred to several detention centers including informal ones but currently they are detained at the federal police investigation bureau. We don’t know why the judges closed the file but failed to release our clients”

The judges did not set an alternative appointment and the duration of time allowed for the prosecutor to finalize its investigation while the defendants remain under custody is not known, Milkiyas said. “This is a clear violation of local and international laws that warrants disciplinary measures,” he added. He disclosed that the defense team will file an appeal to the federal supreme court cassation division or judicial administration council after discussing with their clients.

The defendants were taken back to the federal police’s detention center in Addis Abeba where they have been staying for the last several months.

The hearings of the defendants in Colonel Gemechu’s file after the reopening of the file in November featured many irregularities including an absence of judges from the trials. Most of the trials were postponed multiple times. At his first appearance after his acquittal, Gemechu had to attend the hearing in the absence of his defense team because they were was not made aware of his court appearance. The hearing was postponed until the next day but the police did not bring the defendants to court on that day either.

Colonel Gemechu who was previously jailed and freed from charges was re-arrested in July 2020 after the assassination of Hachalu Hundessa where terrorism charges were re-instated. For 18 months, he remained jailed after he was repeatedly granted bail and re-arrested multiple times, and transferred to over 18 formal and informal detention camps without the knowledge of his family and lawyers, Milkiyas said.

OLF calls for an end to torture of jailed members as senior leaders protest in hunger strike

 The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) accused the ruling party of torturing its jailed members. In a statement released today, the party detailed the conditions of its senior leaders who are currently detained in detention centers in the Oromia special zone surrounding Finfinee. The leaders are on a hunger strike for over a week protesting prolonged unlawful detention, according to the statement. Subsequently, their health conditions have deteriorated over the last couple of days and family members are prevented from visiting them the statement said. 

The public relations head of the OLF told that the party’s jailed members including senior leaders like Mikael Boren, Kenessa Ayana, Dawit Abdeta, Lemi Begna, Geda Gabisa, and the former PR Bate Urgessa were detained in several informal detention centers in towns like Mojo, Awash Melkasa, Gelan, Sebeta and Burayu over the last several months. “Some of our members were detained in solitary confinement in Oromia Special Forces camp called Sololia in Gelan town. Most of them are held in terrible conditions and denied family visitation,” Lammi said. 

The statement issued this morning listed the names of three journalists who are held in Sebeta police station alongside 27 other members of the party. The chief of the prison guard in Sebeta police station denied Dechassa Wirtu, Bikila Amenu, and Dessu Dula, journalists who work for the TV channel affiliated with the party, Oromo News Network (ONN)  are denied food for the last two days, according to Lammi. 

The PR also disclosed that the OLF pleaded with the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to address the human rights violations while in detention. “We sent several letters to the commission last year regarding the forced disappearance of our members from different detention centers but we never got any response,” he said. Lammi recalled that the party wrote consecutive letters to the commission in May, June, and October last year. The commissioner of EHRC Daniel Bekele and the commission’s spokesperson couldn’t be reached for comments. 

Lammi, who put the total number of OLF members and supporters jailed across Oromia ‘in tens of thousands’ expressed frustration with the suffering of the party members at the hands of the ruling party. 

The statement concluded by calling on the international community and human rights advocates to speak for the jailed OLF members. The party also called on the Oromo people to stand in solidarity with them and their families.

Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) has been calling for the release of its leadership. Without their release, OLF’s participation in the dialogue does not seem very likely.

 Ethiopian National Dialogue is off to a bad start. Three political parties have rejected the 1st phase of the National Dialogue process.

House of Peoples’ Representatives (HOPR) today released a list of 42 potential National Dialogue Commissioners. The 42 names have been proposed by the public and finalized by the HOPR. Out of them, 11 will be chosen after receiving public feedback. The 11 Commissioners will start the process of National Dialogue.

Three main political parties seem to have rejected the 42-member list, calling the process partial and faulty.

Before the release of the list today, the HOPR speaker, Tagesse Chafo, invited the Oromia-based political party Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) officials for their input. But OFC party officials declined the invitation.

1. Another Oromia-based political party Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) was not invited by the speaker. Daud Ibsa, Jal Abdi Regasa, Colonel Gemechu Aboye, and others leaders of the OLF have not been released by the government so far.

Somali-region-based Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) has already rejected the process of selection of National Dialogue commissioners.

The Ethiopian government at the start of last month released some politicians from jail. Oromo politicians like Jawar Mohammed, Bekele Gerba, Hamza Borena, Dejene Tafa from Oromia region were released. Some leaders of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) like Sebhat Nega, Abay Weldu, and others were also released. The government said that the politicians were released for the upcoming National Dialogue. But the start of inclusive political dialogue with the participation of all stakeholders seems to be an uphill task.

Oromo Federalist Congress and Odagen National Liberation Front want a transparent and impartial process for the selection of Dialogue Commissioners. They want some international or local body to oversee the process. They do not want any role of HOPR or other government bodies in the process.