ICC Note

The fact that the prosecutor is at  loss on how to proceed with this case is one proof that they have no legal grounds to sentence the teenager. The Ethiopian law clearly gives freedom of speech in relation to religion and also religious freedom.  While Harar area  is predominantly Muslim, they still must uphold the National Constitution. We pray that God will raise someone to advocate for this young Christian and challenge the prosecutor. 

10/20/2015 Ethiopia (World Watch Monitor) –  Police have re-arrested an 18-year-old Ethiopian Christian woman only hours after she was released on bail. The woman, known as Deborah, was detained with three younger teenage girls for their part in handing out a book about Christianity in Babile, a town 550km from the capital, Addis Ababa.

Local Muslims said the book was an insult to Islam, and this led to an attack on a church and the arrest of the four teenagers.

It is not yet clear why Deborah was re-arrested. A police investigation failed to bring formal charges against her and the three other girls. Their bail application was approved by a judge, and the four teenagers were released after paying Birr 3,000 (about US$135).

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