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Ethiopia announced on Saturday that it had accused leading opposition politicians Jawar Mohammed and Bekele Gerba of crimes including terrorism and incitement to violence, a move that risks further inflaming tensions in the troubled Oromia region.
The charges, which could lead to life in prison, relate to the violence that erupted after the June shooting death of Hachalu Hundessa, a popular Oromo singer who gave voice to Oromo sentiments of political and economic marginalization.
In the days following Hachalu’s assassination on June 29, up to 239 people were killed in inter-ethnic violence and clashes with soldiers and police officers that underscored the security challenges facing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, winner of the year’s Nobel Peace Prize. past.
Jawar and Bekele were among more than 9,000 people caught in subsequent mass arrests that have fueled criticism that Abiy is using the unrest to silence opponents and political critics.
The attorney general’s office announced charges against 24 suspects in a Facebook post on Saturday.
These include “trying to incite ethnic and religious conflict to make citizens turn against their fellow citizens.”
Among the other suspects are several high-profile Abiy critics living abroad, such as prominent activist Oromo Tesgaye Regassa and former Abiy ally turned critic Berhanemeskel Abebe.
Jawar’s lawyer, Tuli Bayyisa, told AFP on Saturday that he had not been informed of the charges, but dismissed them as unfounded.
“It is very amazing. I’m 100 percent sure it could take years and years and years, but they won’t prove these allegations if the law really works, ”Tuli said.
The attorney general’s statement did not provide details on the charges, but Tuli said that in Jawar’s case they appeared to be related to a fight over Hachalu’s body that resulted in the death of a police officer.
“No witness has consistently spoken of any crime … neither of Mr. Jawar nor of Mr. Bekele,” he said.
Jawar played a central role in the anti-government protests that brought Abiy to power in 2018.
Abiy is Ethiopia’s first Oromo leader, but he faces intense criticism from Oromo nationalists like Jawar, who accuse him of being a poor defender of their interests and of behaving like a dictator.
Putting Jawar on trial risks fueling violence in Addis Ababa and Oromia, the country’s most populous region surrounding the capital.
Last month, security forces shot dead at least five people in a crackdown on protests against Jawar’s arrest sparked by reports that he was not receiving adequate medical care.
And last October, dozens of people died after Jawar accused security forces of trying to orchestrate an attack on him.
Jawar and Bekele, both members of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress, are expected to appear in court on Monday.
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