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Oromo politicians praise treatment and procedure, but suspect criticizes ‘slanderous’ media coverage
HEOn September 4, federal prosecutors said they wanted to proceed to trial after presenting 10 of the 15 witnesses, two of whom had their identities concealed, in the case of Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) politicians Jawar Mohammed and Bekele Gerba. .
The trial could begin in the Federal Superior Court within a week.
Two more witnesses appeared at the pre-trial hearings on September 1. The next day, during the final testimony of a witness, a defendant, Hameza Adane, also a member of the OFC, said that the suspects are being defamed in the media.
“Our families had to change their residence due to discrimination, the foreign propaganda against us is strong. Although we did not do such a thing, the state brought a witness who told me and Bekele gave the order that resulted in the death of 160 people. They are smearing us with a crime that we did not commit and before that I asked the court to order the cessation of such smears, “he said.
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Defense attorney Tuli Bayessa said Ethiopia outlook they are considering suing the media. The judge said the Court of First Instance could only investigate specific allegations and asked Hameza to name the media and detail the allegedly defamatory statements. In response, the defendant named Feteh magazine.
On September 4, the testimonies and interrogations of two more witnesses were held. Prosecutors later said they have provided sufficient testimony and that the remaining five witnesses will appear in the Federal Superior Court trial. They have until September 18 to press charges in court.
During the pre-trial hearings, prosecutors from the Public Ministry presented the general nature of the evidence acquired by the police investigators to justify the arrest of the suspect. During the subsequent preliminary investigation, which is only routine in cases of alleged serious crimes, the witnesses are heard and these testimonies are transferred to the Federal Superior Court for trial.
In the last session of the pre-trial investigation, the court said the prosecution requested 15 days to press charges after receiving the copy of the testimonies. However, according to article 109 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the 15-day countdown starts from the day of the conclusion of the witness hearings.
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Defense attorneys argued that the 15 days granted to press charges are not necessary since the police investigation concluded a month ago. The defense also asked the court to release the suspects on bail until trial, but that was rejected. The suspects told the court that the testimonies presented were false and that the dispute needed a political resolution, not a legal one.
Jawar and Bekele again asked the court to allow the suspects to be detained together, as there is no justification for the detention alone. The court ordered that the suspects be allowed to see each other and have sufficient time outdoors, but Jawar noted that a prior court order on the matter had not been implemented.
At the judge’s request, the deputy director of the Federal Prison Administration, Etenesh Woldegabriel, said she did not know why this had not happened. The judge told the deputy director that the order of September 4 had to be fulfilled without preconditions, but, as of September 13, this had not happened, despite the defense complaint three days earlier.
Jawar and Bekele made a final statement thanking the judge, prosecutors, and police officers for trying to be fair and treating them well. Jawar asked the officers to extend that treatment to all people in their custody. Bekele said: “This is not the first time that I have faced the court. We all know how it used to be and what happened in this very courtroom two years ago. Now I have much more respect for this court ”.
On September 7, Deputy Attorney General Fekadu Tsega said that the alleged killers of Hachalu Hundessa – a June 29 incident that sparked deadly chaos that is suspected of stoking Jawar and Bekele – will also be charged next week and that related investigations are also nearing completion.
Defense attorney Tuli Bayessa said Ethiopia outlook the pre-trial process was smooth, and the substitute judge was an improvement over the first judge, who he claims illegally denied Jawar’s request to see his doctor.
The prosecution was strict in keeping the testimonies and identities of the witnesses hidden during the preliminary investigation. Journalists were not allowed into the courtroom, but instead follow procedures, apart from witness testimonies, on a plasma screen in an adjacent room. According to the defense, the testimonies were kept hidden since they could have revealed the identity of the witnesses, but normally this occurs in a totally closed session. Prosecutors claimed that some state witnesses had been intimidated.
Only four family members of the suspects were able to attend the witness hearings. On September 1 Ethiopia Insight’s The correspondent asked other journalists if it was allowed to interview relatives. The correspondent was later questioned by a police officer and told that such an interview would be interpreted as an attempt to reveal the content of the hidden testimonies.
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Main photo: Jawar Mohammed; Wikipedia
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