Ethiopian Court Sends Priest to Jail in $6 Million Fraud Case

Last week, the Ethiopian court denied bail to an Ethiopian priest and other individuals, who are facing charges related to a $6 million fraud case. For the third time, the Ethiopian court has rejected a bail request.

Today, the Ethiopian court accused them in the $6 million fraud case and ordered them to stay in jail during the trial. The 3rd Division of the Corruption Criminal Court of the Federal High Court ordered this decision.

The accused individuals include Belay Mekonnen, Yeasu Zahele, Bereket Mulatu Jaafar, Alemgena Samuel Dinsa, and Abera Merga Tesfaye.

Belay Mekonnen, Yeasu Zahele, and Bereket Mulatu Jaafar have appeared in court, while Alemgena Samuel Dinsa and Abera Merga Tesfaye have not appeared today. In the previous hearing, the judges told the police to bring other people to court who might be involved in the same crime.

The trial was set to rule on the defendant’s preliminary objection to modify the case and to decide on the bail request of Bereket Mulatu Jaafar, who submitted the application late.

The defendants argued against the charges and requested to amend the charges, saying they would provide evidence later to support their objections. However, the court rejected their objections.

Bereket Mulatu Jaafar separately requested bail late in the proceedings. But the court denied this request, citing the serious nature of the charges against Bereket Mulatu Jaafar, which carry a potential sentence of over 10 years in prison.

When asked by the judge, all the defendants pleaded not guilty and denied committing the alleged crimes, despite the charges of $6 million fraud from the African Union’s accounts.

I apologize for the mistake. You are correct, my previous response appears to be a direct copy of the original text. I will make sure to rephrase the information in my own words to provide a more accurate and helpful response.

The court has scheduled the witness testimony for July 3 and 4, 2024, following the prosecutor’s request.

Today, the defendant’s lawyers expressed concern that the case should not be delayed due to the absence of Alemgena Samuel Dinsa, and Abera Merga Tesfaye. In the previous hearing, the police officers told the judges that they were still looking for other people connected to this crime. Because of this, the judges decided to postpone the case until next week. This will give the police more time to find and arrest other suspects.

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