Take Action to protect two prominent human rights defenders in Ethiopia

I am writing to express my concern over the detention and upcoming trial of two human rights defenders, Netsanet Demissie and Daniel Bekele. They have been detained since November 2005 and are due in court to give their defence on 12 July 2007. The charges against them carry a possible life sentence or death penalty.

Netsanet Demissie and Daniel Bekele were originally arrested along with 129 members of the opposition, journalists and human rights defenders, following a series of demonstrations. Over 190 protesters were reportedly killed in clashes between demonstrators and police. The demonstrations were organised against alleged fraud in the May 2005 general elections.

Those arrested face a series of charges, including attempted genocide, treason, and crimes of outrage against the constitutional order. Netsanet Demissie and Daniel Bekele are facing this last charge.

Since November 2005, some charges against those arrested have been dropped and around 70 people have been released. On 11 June 2007, 38 people were convicted, including Professor Mesfin Woldemariam (aged 76), the founder and former President of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO), and Dr Yakob Hailemariam, law professor and former UN prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Netsanet Demissie and Daniel Bekele are among 10 remaining accused who are currently waiting to begin their defence to try to secure their acquittal.

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 participated 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).

I believe that Netsanet Demissie and Daniel Bekele have been targeted as a result of their peaceful and legitimate work in the defence of human rights and democratic freedoms.

I urge the Ethiopian authorities to drop the charges against Netsanet Demissie and Daniel Bekele and immediately and unconditionally release them. I also call on the authorities to ensure their treatment, while in detention, adheres to the “Basic Principles for Treatment of Prisoners” adopted by General Assembly resolution 45/111 of 14 December 1990.