Dehai News

A 29-year-old man who says his name is Medhanie Tesfamariam Behre has been on trial in Palermo a year and a half for human trafficking. In what looks to be a case of mistaken identity, the authorities arrested him because they believed him to be Medhanie Yehdego Mered, known as “The General,” the mastermind behind human trafficking in the Mediterranean over the past few years.

The Italian authorities had been seeking Mared since the dramatic shipwreck of the Lampedusa on October 3, 2013, in which 368 people died and at least 20 remain missing.

Behre was arrested at the Asmara Corner Café in Khartum, Sudan, by the Sudanese police on May 2016 after a long international investigation led by the Italian, English and Sudanese secret services. He was extradited to Italy on a special flight on June 7, 2016.

Amongst the journalists who have followed the case is Stefano Colombo, who writes for thesubmarine.it. In a post published on Nov. 13, he shares what was found by Lorenzo Tondo, a journalist from Palermo who has been following the case for The Guardian.

On July 4, the site newsicilia.it revealed that the defense presented two witnesses, who now have asylum in Sweden, who say with certainty that the man arrested is not Mered.

Fonte: eritrea-chat.com

Further, Tondo revealed on his Facebook page that Italian prosecutors had recordedone of his conversations. His post was widely seen, receiving over 500 likes.

With similar investigation techniques, one wonders whether the Italian judiciary is looking for the actual culprit or a victim to sacrifice as such to end the issue.

To try to do something concrete on this story, Abdoulaye Bah, the author of this post, supported by a large group of activists, readers and specialists, is launching a petition that we ask you to sign: 

Liberate Medhanie Tesfamariam Behre, il falegname eritreo, in carcere per omonimia (Petizione su Avaaz)

Free Medhanie Tesfamariam Behre, the Eritrean carpenter in jail for homonymy (petition on Aavaaz)