A call for worldwide Solidarity for Daniel & Netsanet

A call for worldwide Solidarity for Daniel & Netsanet

Posted on 16th March 2008

A call for worldwide Solidarity dedicated to human rights and civic society activists Daniel Bekele & Netsanet Demissie.

Daniel Bekele (m), policy manager of the Ethiopian office of ActionAid (international development NGO), lawyer

Netsanet Demissie (m), director of NGO Organization for Social Justice in Ethiopia.

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Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie are human rights activists who ended up being deprived of their own basic human rights. Amnesty International and other international human rights organisations consider them as prisoners of conscience. 27 months have now passed since they have been illegally detained and justice has not yet been restored.

Netsanet Demissie is a human rights and environmental lawyer based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He is the founder and Executive Director of the Organization for Social Justice in Ethiopia (OSJE), which took part in monitoring national elections in May 2005. Daniel Bekele is the head of the Policy Research and Advocacy Department for Action Aid International in Ethiopia. Both Netsanet Demissie and Daniel Bekele are coordinators of the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP). The two were arrested following the aftermath of May 2005 election and remained in jail to this day.

Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie are some of the last remaining prisoners following a trial that started in May 2006, which originally involved 131 politicians, journalists, civil society leaders and organisations accused of a range of charges from genocide to treason. They were among thousands who were detained following protests accusing the Ethiopian regime of rigging the 15 May 2005 National elections. Some of the accused were acquitted during the course of the trial. Others were convicted but pardoned in July and August 2007 after they allegedly signed a confession letter apologizing for “mistakes” in the demonstrations following the 2005 elections.

Although they were asked to sign a similar statement, Daniel and Netsanet declined. Counting on the non-existent justice system they argued that their activities in 2005 were entirely legal and did not serve to undermine, but rather to protect and promote Ethiopia ’s constitutional order.

Throughout this sham trial Daniel and Netsanet defended the charges of ‘outrage against the Constitution and constitutional order’, and proved beyond reasonable doubt that they were within the law, but partisan judges were not interested in upholding the rule of law.

On 26 December 2007 they were unjustly convicted by the phoney court and were sentenced for two and half years.

Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie become victims of persecution as a consequence of their peaceful activities in defence of human rights. Furthermore, this is another evidence that indicates the deplorable and ferocious campaign waged by the dictatorial regime that is bent on silencing civic society and human rights defenders in Ethiopia.

We salute these great civic leaders that have become an inspiration for many of their young compatriots, who are keen to promote their cause and vow to follow on their tracks in the building of a better and just society.

ACTION REQUESTED:

We ask the international civic and human rights organizations across the globe not to give up on the demand for the freedom of their illegally detained colleagues.

We ask Governments of democratic nations to use your good offices to put pressure on the regime on Ethiopia to respect human rights and release these two human rights activists unconditionally.

We ask all international human rights activists and concerned Ethiopians to publicize, as widely as possible, the news of this outrageous injustice by the regime in Ethiopia, condemning it in the strongest possible terms. Letters of protest may be sent to any or all of the international organizations asking them to demand for the immediate and unconditional release of Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie.

Insist on Zenawi’s regime to stop the threat against all civic society and human rights defenders in Ethiopia, as well as lifting all prohibitions preventing them to freely conduct their lawful and peaceful work towards building a democratic society,

Let us put our voice together to press the ruling regime in Ethiopia to respect the rights of human rights defenders and civil society to operate without fear of intimidation or reprisal.

Let us make sure that we take time this week to express our solidarity and campaign for the freedom of the jailed civic society and human rights defenders Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie.

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Text taken from previous solidarity call by Ethiopian Civic Consortium UK, posted on 29th February 2008, available below;
Solidarity week for Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie

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