Four Minor, ages 15 and 16, sentenced to 15 and 16 years in prison by Oromia High Court

Seven month ago, on February 24th, OLLAA received tips from social media that four minors were sentenced to 15 years or more in prison. Their crime was protesting. It took OLLAA five months to locate and speak to family members to obtain accurate ages and the court reasoning behind those long sentences. This month OLLAA received additional information that led to the conclusion that these minors indeed received jail terms which were more than their ages combined. 

According to the report that OLLAA received, these minors spent seven months in detention centers as their cases made their way through the court system.These minors were  wrongfully convicted of organizing and participating in a protest that followed the aftermath of Hundessa’s assasination. The four were accused of leading an illegal protest where several people lost their lives and properties worth millions were destroyed.

According to the report received by OLLAA, Ms. Kamilaa is a minor of sixteen years and a student at a local school. She was arrested on June 30th, 2020 and was in custody until she was convicted. She was only taken to Court once. On the specific day she was taken to court, she was sentenced to 16 years in prison without much in the way of evidence.

The second victim of this injustice is  a 15 year old student at a local school. She was arrested on the same day as the first victim. She was in custody for seven months and only taken to court on her sentencing day according to the report.

The following table highlights the name of the individuals, their zone, district, gender and their prison sentences.  

NoNameAgeDate of Arrest GenderPrison Sentence (Years)ZoneDistrict 
1Fooziya Ruuquu1530/06/2020F16North ShawaBoosat
2Kamilaa Kadiir  Ganna1630/06/2020F16North ShawaBoosat
3Kadiir Mahaammad1630/06/2020M15North Shawa Boosat
4Musxaafaa Seenxii Abdurroo1630/06/2020M15North Shawa Boosat