Berhanu Tekleyared, head of South and West Africa Dioceses of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, is released from prison on Tuesday.
He was taken from his residence in Addis Ababa in May of this year and kept behind bars for more than two months. There was no court or legal process for his release – as was the case for his arrest. What is known is that when his family members went to visit him in prison, they were told that “they can take him home” – according to local news sources.
“For those of you who remembered me in your prayers, who stood on the side of my wife and daughter, for the lawyers who stood with me in courts, for those of you who became a voice for me on social media, those of you who thought of me in trying times, for those of you who made me say ‘ሀሎ ዘመድ ጊዜ ተዋርዶ…’ may the God of Saint Mercurius who was slapped for the sake of the church be your relative in times of hardships,” Berhahu wrote on his social media page after he was released.
It was for the second time in less than six months that he was arrested. He was arrested in October 2023 and released in November 2023.
