Ethiopia: Prosecutors request closed trial in Qilinto inmates trial

Qilinto prison

ESAT News (January 18, 2018)

The general prosecutor requested a court in Addis Ababa that the proceedings of the 38 inmates of the Qilinto prison who were accused of starting fire in October that killed 23 prisoners be held in a closed court.

The prosecutor told the court that witnesses called for the trial have been harassed and intimidated and demanded that the trial to proceed in closed sessions.

The court advised defense attorneys to present their objections to the prosecutor in writing to the clerk.

The charge by the prosecutor said the inmates deliberately started the fire to execute a mission by political parties outlawed by the regime.

A guard on duty at the Qilinto prison told the media in August that security forces were shooting at the prisoners following the start of the fire.

Families of the deceased who spoke to ESAT in August said the bodies of their loved ones were riddled with bullets and authorities have warned them against disclosing the manner of the death.

The notorious Qilinto prison is home to Ethiopia’s vocal critics, members of opposition political parties and journalists.