Ethiopia’s Federal Attorney General’s office has reportedly ordered for the immediate release of Kenyan Journalist Yassin Juma, who has been in custody for close to two months now.
Speaking to a Daily Nation, Mr Juma’s lawyer Abdulletif Amee said that the AG’s office said that Juma was arrested due to language barrier. However, Mr Amee felt that ‘language barrier’ was only an excuse to escape liability.
“According to the Office of the Attorney General, Juma was detained wrongfully because of language barrier. Is it convincing enough to say he was detained because of misunderstanding? Is that a tactic to escape from liability?” questioned Mr Amee.
Read: Kenya’s Clueless Foreign Affairs Ministry That Is Never There For Its Citizens : Yassin Juma Case
Mr Juma had earlier on been released by the Lower Court and the High Court, but Ethiopia’s public prosecutor insisted on the case, asking for 15 more days to “conclude investigations”.
Juma was arrested on July 3 in the house of prominent Ethiopian media mogul Jawar Mohammed and is accused of crimes related to subverting authority.
He is also accused of fueling violence following the assassination of popular Ethiopian musician and activist Hachalu Hundessa.
Mr Juma has so far contracted Covid-19, and did not attend court session on Tuesday since he was qyuarantined.
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