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News: Fed. Supreme Court rules in favor of Jawar Mohammed et. al; dismisses prosecutors appeal


Bekele Gerba, Jawar Mohammed, Dejene Tafa, Hamza Adane (From left to right)

By Mahlet Fasil @MahletFasil 

Addis Abeba, December 04/2021 – Yesterday, the federal supreme court 2nd cassation bench ruled in the favor of the defendants on Jawar Mohammed’s file whose defense team appealed at the federal supreme court 2nd cassation Bench, to reverse the federal high court’s decision to proceed with prosecutor’s witness hearing in the absence of Four of the defendants on the file. The court also dismissed the prosecutor’s appeal against the decision by the lower court to hold the prosecutor’s witnesses hearing in open sessions. 

This comes after both the defense team and prosecutors appealed to the federal supreme court earlier in November.  The defense team appealed to the cassation bench of the federal supreme court objecting to a ruling made by the federal high court to hold witness hearings in the absence of Jawar Mohammed, Bekele Gerba, Hamza Adane and Dejene Tafa. 

The Four defendants declined to attend the hearings in protest of the summary execution of detainees, maltreatment of prisoners in detention and extrajudicial killings in different parts of the country. Following the protest, the federal high court on July 28, 2021 ruled that witness hearings will be held in the absence of Jawar Mohammed, Bekele Gerba, Hamza Adane and Dejene Tafa, the four main defendants in the file. 

On the other hand, the cassation bench dismissed the prosecutor’s second appeal to reverse a ruling by the federal high court, Lideta branch, first constitutional and anti-terrorism bench to hold prosecutor’s witnesses hearing in open sessions. 

The prosecutor argued that the ruling by federal high court Lideta branch, first constitutional and anti-terrorism bench on the nature of the witness hearing did not consider the safety of witnesses.

The court adjourned the hearing until December 15, 2021 to hear the prosecutor’s complaints about the absence of Jawar Mohammed, Bekele Gerba, Hamza Adane and Dejene Tafa. AS

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