Bekele Gerba kept in prison for bureaucratic reasons

Ethiopia’s opposition politician Bekele Gerba is not legible for release until next month and may not be released until next year, Horn Affairs learnt.

Bekele Gerba, former dep. Chairperson of Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM), was detained in August 27, 2011. He was sentenced to eight years imprisonment on charges of “provocation crimes against the state” and collaborating with the Oromo Liberation Front, an organization designated as terrorist by Ethiopian Parliament.

The sentence was reduced to three years and seven months after Bekele appealed to the Federal Supreme Court.

There have been claims on social media that Bekele was supposed to be released on probation last weekend, but has been kept in prison for bureaucratic reasons.

Public Relations officer of the Federal Prison Administration Commission contradicted the claims.

Addisu Tedros told Horn Affairs today that:

“A prisoner’s release on probation is determined based on a thorough evaluation and finally submitted to court for approval. However, Bekele Gerba’s case has not reached that stage yet.

If Bekele Gerba is to be released on probation it would not be sooner than February 10, 2014. Otherwise, his prison term will end on May 11, 2015.”

Asked whether the dates are counted correctly, the officer added that it is based on a computerized data base.

On the other hand, a senior official in the Ethiopian government told Horn Affairs that Bekele Gerba won’t be released on probation.

The official, speaking off-the-record, said that: “The government has no intention of releasing [Bekele Gerba] until he completes the full prison term.”

No more pre-release of prisoners?

The Ethiopian government has not released any high-profile prisoner since the pardon for the two Swedish journalists on September 2012, when Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn was still an acting PM. Though tens of thousands have been granted pardon on the eve of the Ethiopian New Year, last September, there are reports that the government rejected the petition for pardon by journalist Wubshet Taye and opposition politician Zerihun G/Egiziabher.

Remarking on the matter, during an exclusive interview with Horn Affairs last week, Minister Rewan Husien claimed that this doesn’t mean that the government has closed the door on pre-release of prisoners.

Referring to the high-profile prisoners, Redwan added:
“Currently, the government has not arrived at a conclusion that there is anyone who is ready to change, who has been corrected and who has reached a point of becoming an example to others. But that doesn’t mean we won’t reach a different conclusion at some future date.”

Though Redwan was commenting on pardon – which is technically different from a release on probation -, both matters lie under the discretion of the government. Thus, presumably subject to similar raison d’etre.

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Ethiopian opposition leaders detained after meeting with Amnesty International

Amnesty International | 31 August 2011

Bekele was held immediately after he was interviewed by Claire Beston of Amnesty International U.K

Two Ethiopian opposition leaders have been arrested after meeting an Amnesty International delegation, which was afterwards expelled from the country, the organization said today.

One of the men was accused of terror-related offences, while the charges against the other man are not known.

“We are extremely concerned that the arrests of the two men occurred within days of talking with our delegates. Although the Ethiopian government has denied it, we are worried that their arrests are not a coincidence, but because they spoke to Amnesty International,” said Michelle Kagari, deputy programme director for Africa.

Bekele Gerba, deputy Chairman of the opposition Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) and Olbana Lelisa of the Oromo People’s Congress party (OPC) were both arrested on 27 August.

On the same day that the two men were arrested, the Amnesty International delegation was called to a government meeting, where they were ordered to leave the country.

Bekele Gerba, an English teacher at Addis Ababa University, was arrested on allegations of belonging to the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), a charge the government often uses to silence members of the Oromo political opposition. It has not been made public what Olbana Lelisa is accused of, but it is anticipated that the charges will be the same.

Amnesty International delegates had met with Olbana Lelisa the day before his arrest, to exchange information. They also met with Bekele Gerba, four days before his arrest. Amnesty International delegates were photographed by secret service agents leaving his office after the meeting.

In that meeting Bekele Gerba had explained to Amnesty International the irony of Oromo politicians being accused of belonging to the OLF. ‘The OLF don’t like us,’ he said. ‘They say we are legitimising the rule of the EPRDF [the ruling party], they say we are their puppets and our struggle does not bear any fruit.’

Both men were long-standing opposition politicians, who had campaigned openly in the 2010 national elections. “The arrests are indicative of the constant harassment of opposition politicians, and severe stifling of freedom of expression in the country”, said Michelle Kagari.

The two men are now being held in the federal police investigation centre, ‘Maikelawi’, from where Amnesty International has received countless reports of the use of torture. Furthermore, detainees at Maikelawi are, as a general rule, denied access to lawyers or family members, for periods of up to one or two months.

The Amnesty International delegates were under constant surveillance during the twelve days they spent in the country before being expelled. “We are now extremely concerned for the safety of everyone our delegates met with while they were in the country,” said Michelle Kagari.