Ethiopia releases senior OLF commander from detention

ADDIS ABABA - The federal government of Ethiopia has released a senior Oromo Liberation Front [OLF] commander from prison, two years after his arbitrary arrest and subsequent detention without trial, in what seems to be a new norm in the Horn of Africa nation.

Colonel Gemechu Ayana was released on Wednesday, just a day after the Federal Supreme Court Cessation bench ruled in his favour, prompting authorities in Addis Ababa to quickly process his freedom. He was rearrested in July 2020 following protests over the assassination of musician Hachalu Hundreds.

Last year, Colonel Gemechu and 13 others were picked by the police after the Federal High Court 3rd Anti-Terrorism and Constitutional Bench court acquitted them and ordered their release, the Addis Ababa Standard reports.

Despite being granted bail, he has been behind bars, rearrested multiple times, and spent several nights in more than 20 formal and informal detention camps within the country. His family, legal teams, and relatives have often been kept in darkness over his whereabouts.

In January last year, he was transferred to a division in the detention center known for constant fights among inmates. The leaders of the Oromo Federalist Congress [OFC] Jawar Mohammed and Bekele Gerba went on a hunger strike demanding the transfer of Colonel Gemechu to a safer prison cell.

In November last year, the senior commander was subjected to the Federal Supreme Court Cessation bench after the government failed to appeal, six months after being acquitted. He was one of many high-profile political prisoners in the country.

But early this year, the court closed his case along with other four individuals as the defense team filed complaints about violation of their rights. The court however decided that the defendants remain under custody since “they don’t know who arrested them.”

Already, three of the five suspects recorded in the file; Kisu Qituma, Usman Hassen, and Lemmesa Takelewere have since been released but their cases were pending; and one defendant, Amanuel Ejigu Merga, was reportedly killed by government security forces, according to Lammi Gemechu, interim public relations head of the OLF.

Ethiopia has been on spot for gross violation of human rights, coupled with arbitrary detentions of political operatives who are opposed to the administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Mr. Abiy Ahmed comes from the Oromia region, which has been witnessing politically instigated violence ever since he took over.

Previously, the federal police explained to the court that they have no cases against Colonel Gemechu but they are keeping him in detention on behalf of the Oromia police. At the hearing yesterday, the court ordered the release of Colonel Gemechu, the AS reported.

Besides the political tensions in his Oromia backyard, PM Abiy Ahmed is also struggling to contain violence in the Tigray region, where thousands of people have been killed. Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 but his human rights record has been questioned repeatedly.

GAROWE ONLINE