Outrage as man bags 25-year-jail term for rape and murder of minor

There is widespread anger in Ethiopia over the 25-year jail term handed to a landlord who brutally raped and murdered his tenant’s seven-year-old daughter.

Heaven Awot was taking from her home, sexually assaulted, mutilated, and killed by her mother’s landlord, Getnet Baye, in the northwestern city of Bahir Dar in August 2023.

He was sentenced to only 25 years in prison. However, the case attracted widespread attention after he recently launched an appeal. The case was adjourned until October.

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The case has sparked widespread condemnation and demands for justice, and over 200,000 people have signed an online petition calling for a review of the sentencing to “reflect the gravity of the crime” and to offer support for Heaven’s mother, Abekyelesh Adeba.

The Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA) has also denounced the sentencing as “very light,” stating that “the murder by itself should have been enough to sentence him to life imprisonment or to death.