Four of the 22 political
prisoners detained on trumped up terrorism charges told a court in Addis Ababa
on Tuesday that they were asked by prison officials to take pills that they
neither ask for nor prescribed by their doctor.
Refusing to take the pills, the four
prisoners were separated from the rest and put in a dark cell for the last four
days, Bekele Gerba, a leading member of the Oromo Federalist Congress told the
court. He was one of the four prisoners asked to take the suspicious pill.
Bekele also told the court
that the Kilinot prison refused to allow visits from their families. He also
demanded the court for the proceedings of the trial to be open to media.
The lawyer representing
the prisoners, Wondimu Ebsa told reporters that there were 83 prisoners at the
Kilinto prison and 97 others at the Addis Ababa Central Investigation Bureau
and other prisons in the capital.
All prisoners were charged
with terrorism, a charge that the tyrannical regime use to silence independent
voices, opponents and journalists. Bekele and all the other defendants were
accused of orchestrating and taking part in the protest in the Oromia region.
Bekele was imprisoned for
four years on terrorism charges and was just released last year.
Source: ESAT News
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