Three men freed from false convictions for burning down Ethiopian Orthodox church

Three men, falsely convicted and imprisoned for burning down an Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC) building in the rural community of Gulema Iyesus in May 2014, have been acquitted and freed. The area is about 275 kilometres north of the capital, Addis Ababa. 

Tibebu Mekuria, Dawit Jemberu, and Belete Tilahun were reunited with their families on 18th January after a Supreme Court judge acquitted them on 13th January.

Despite their acquittal, they do however still face a compensation order given by a judge in July 2016 – even though they were appealing their conviction – to pay for the damages to the church. These were valued at more than 1.2 million Ethiopian Birr (worth more than $US40,000 at the time of the sentence). Mr Mekuria and Mr Jemberu are both single and have no property, but Mr Tilahun, who is married and a father of three, risks losing his property.

The men appeared in court in Debiremarkos, north of Addis Ababa, on 25th January to request the compensation order to be cancelled, but the judge said he needed time to go through the file and understand how the verdict was reached. Their next court appearance is due on 20th February.

The release follows almost three years of flawed court proceedings and delays. Mr Mekuria and Mr Jemeberu, both Protestant evangelists, were arrested a month after the Ethiopian Orthodox Church building burned down, accused of starting the fire. Police then also arrested Mr Tilahun, also a Protestant Christian and small kiosk owner, who was accused of funding the attack. 

Although witnesses said the men were not near the building at the time of the fire and the single prosecution witness gave inconsistent testimony, the judge found all three guilty on 28th October, 2014, with sentences of up to nine years in prison each. 

In November, 2014, another judge upheld the ruling, prompting the men’s lawyer to appeal to the Regional State Supreme Court in the Amhara state capital of Bahirdar. That appeal was rejected. A final appeal, to the Federal Supreme Court in Addis Ababa, first to be heard in June, 2015, had been postponed at least eight times since then, including from 10th to 13th January this year; the judge continually claimed he had inadequate time to look at the case. 

The men have been held in Debiremarkos prison, notorious as a prison where opponents of the former Communist Ethiopian government were tortured and killed.

During the delays, Mr Tilahun’s father died of an unknown cause in May, 2016. Local contacts told World Watch Monitor at the time: "It was traumatic for [Belete] in jail. The father was deeply saddened to see his son sentenced back in 2015. He was depressed after attending hearing after hearing. When the judge at the higher court upheld the ruling by the lower court, he was heard saying, 'May the God of truth vindicate your name', with deep frustration. A devoted EOC follower, he was not convinced about the accusations against his son. For Belete it’s always been very concerning to see his father tirelessly attending all the hearings at such an old age. Read more here