The Ethiopian kangaroo court has passed a lengthy prison sentence to the Muslim leaders whose crime is stepping forward to peacefully settle the dispute between the Muslim community and the regime. This vindictive sentencing is a result of the regime's frustration and anger towards the leaders because, by choosing nonviolent struggle and unifying the public on the path, they denied the security branch its goal of agitating Muslim youth into violent confrontation and extremism. During the weeks before their imprisonment, Abubakar etl were presented with opportunity to exile. However, they had a unified and unflinching response saying ' we promised our people to represent them. They have elected and rallied behind us. We will not abandon them no matter what. We can't leave them to confront this malicious regime whose ignorance and arrogance we witnessed during our repeated effort to negotiate with them'.

They were right. Had they ran away, the peaceful protest would have faced exiled and potentially divided leadership enabling the regime to infiltrate and agitate towards its goal of engineering militant groups. By choosing to face jail together, the leaders maintained unity and denied the the regime that opportunity.

Its sad to hear men of peace facing 22 years. However, as the Oromo saying goes " hidhaan qoraasuma gootaati", meaning as qoraasuma makes milk taste even better, prison also helps a brave freedom fighter become even stronger and wiser. Therefore, I am sure these unjustly imprisoned brave leaders will come out with much improved qualities to serve their constituency and the country. If this dumb regime thinks it can break their spirit through such lengthy sentencing, it should look at its other victims, men like Bekele Gerba and Asli Oromo, who languished in the gulag for long years yet came out unbroken and swinging even harder for freedom.

Jawhar Mohammed