Olbana lelisa biography

Oromo singer killed!

Oromo liberation army

On 27 August , Bekele and Olbana Lelisa of Oromo People's Congress (OPC) were arrested on suspicion of being members of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).

Oromo singer killed

Olbana Lelisa, charged in October The latter trial concluded in – see below.

Bekele Gerba and Olbana Lelisa appeared in federal court to hear charges accusing them of conspiring to overthrow Ethiopia's government by force.

Since Ethiopia’s ruling party (EPRDF) came to power in 1991, countless Oromo activists, students, professionals, academics, farmers, and businessmen have disappeared, been imprisoned, tortured, or unjustly executed.

While the State’s tight control of information has not allowed for reliable statistics, the number of Oromo political prisoners currently languishing in prisons across Ethiopia is estimated to be more than 20,000.

In today’s Ethiopia, every dissenting Oromo is branded as an OLF sympathizer, and by extension, a terrorist, to an extent that being an Oromo itself has becomea crime in Ethiopia.

Analysts warn Ethiopia is turning into a “prison house” for Oromos, citing stockpiles of prisoners around the country.

For the selfless sacrifice each one of them has made in the name of freedom; for speaking truth to power when it was least convenient; for being a voice for voiceless Oromos; and for choosing cold and grim prison cells over the safety of life in the di