Voices of the imprisoned – Legal aid services in Adama
Advocates Ethiopia (AE) is part of a consortium with Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) and Mizan Young Lawyers Center (MYLC), which is being supported through the Civil Society Innovation Fund (CSIF), funded by the French Development Agency (AFD). Through the programme, for the past three years, the consortium has been providing legal aid services to vulnerable populations in Addis Ababa, Hawassa and Adama. This change story describes the impact of Advocates Ethiopia’s legal aid services on two young men and their families in Adama.
Tesfaye Feseha is 42 years of age and currently lives in Adama. He made Adama his new hometown after relocating from Addis Ababa to follow up on a property inheritance claim starting some eight years ago.
One day, he and his cousin got into a quarrel that turned into a physical fight. After his cousin filed a complaint against him, Tesfaye was imprisoned at Gada police station. While he was held there for three days before appearing in court, he had no one to support him, and he did not have the money to hire a lawyer. He was alone. However, legal aid providers from Advocates Ethiopia heard about his detention and visited him at the prison. They helped him to appear in court prepared and provided him with legal representation, which ultimately led to his bail release on the 18th day of his detainment.
Tesfaye, suffers from a chronic illness to his kidneys which needed medical care, but despite the judge's decision to allow medical access, the police officers prevented him from getting adequate care. Tesfaye wondered out loud: "I am aware that jails are never a good place to be. I have previously been jailed. (But) When the judges ordered me to see doctors, why do the police officers refuse (me) access to medical care?”.
"Thank God, I was able to acquire medical care and support from the Advocates Ethiopia team during court proceedings and challenging circumstances. My release on bail was made possible by them. They saved my life. They saved my failing marriage that would have ended altogether if I had been held longer than this; my wife, who was gone with her parents when I was detained, would not have been brought back. My mom and my little daughter whom I care for would have been left without support. God forbid; I might possibly pass away due to my illness while imprisoned.”
Tesfaye was able to get surgery after being released from jail on bail and continued to receive legal aid assistance from AE staff during his trial until his eventual acquittal. He adds he has no words to express how grateful he is, except "a life saver."
Another young man - Demoz Lemma, who is 30 years of age, and a resident of Adama also benefitted from AE’s support. Demoz makes a living as Bajaj taxi driver and is a bread winner for his family. One day an argument occurred between him and a client and when provoked, he punched this person. Police personnel who were nearby at the time took him to prison where he was kept for more than three months without appearing before the court. His wife, Kidist Mandefro, was pregnant at the time of his detention and gave birth to a baby in his absence. Not only did she miss out on his physical presence and support at birth and during the early postpartum period, but she also had to navigate this period without the breadwinner’s financial support.
Demoz claims that although he is aware of some of his rights, such as the requirement to appear in court within 48 hours of detention, according to the Ethiopian law, the prison system did not permit him to do so. He was kept in a single room with around fifty other prisoners, who he says were only permitted to use the restroom twice a day. He explained that prisoners are forced to use a plastic bag to urinate, while there isn't enough space to sleep, and the cell is crowded and infected with pests and parasites.
"One day, I realised that I knew a group called Advocates Ethiopia. They promote free legal aid services" he explains. “As soon my wife arrived at Advocate Ethiopia’s office, they began investigating my case. They were able to arrange my release at last, and quite fast.”
Demoz's release allowed him to return to work and take care of his wife and newborn.
The free legal aid service provided by AE that resulted in Demoz’s release has greatly satisfied him. Without this, he claimed that his confinement may have lasted even longer than three months because of the numerous accounts of extended detentions he heard at the prison, including a story of a man who was freed only after two years of illegal detention. Demoz declares, "I'm so happy!...I prefer starvation than my justice being denied”.
Demoz’s, Tesfaye’s and other similar stories are testaments to the reality in Ethiopia today where although the law mandates that arrested individuals will be brought before a court within a reasonable time, such rights are often violated in practice. Such denial of access to court leads to longer periods of pre-trial detention that also hinders the ability of detainees to expose any incidences of abuse that may occur while under police custody.
These testimonies emphasize how important legal counsel is when a person's freedom or well-being is threatened by detention conditions or the legal system and portrays the critical role that AE has been playing to uphold and defend the human rights of people who are detained, through implementation of the CSIF funded project.