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borkena
August 31, 2020
A court in Bishoftu (Debre Zeit), in the regional state of Oromo, ruled on Monday that police will not have another two weeks of additional time to “complete an investigation into Lidetu Ayalew.”
The court said the investigation file is now closed and the defendant is invited to apply for bail rights, the state media Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) reported.
The court cited article 1, sections 1 and 2 of the penal code to rule that a police request for 14 more days is unreasonable in view of the law.
It was for the fourth time that Lidetu appeared before the district court in the city of Bishoftu, where he has a residence.
He had been asking the court to consider his medical condition (he said he has a heart condition that could make him vulnerable to coronavirus disease). One of his complaints was that the prison condition has made social distancing difficult.
Lidetu was arrested in connection with the violence in the Oromo region following the murder of Hachalu Hundesa in late June 2020, but law enforcement established that the massacre in some locations began even before Hachalu’s death was announced.
Police suspected that Lidetu, co-founder of the Ethiopian Democratic Party, was organizing young people in Debre Zeit to protest.
What is clear is that he has openly criticized the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. In particular, it openly declared that the Abiy government would be illegal beyond September 30 on the grounds that it would not have a constitutional basis.
His supporters appear to link his arrest to his criticism of the Abiy Ahmed government.
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