Tesfaye Bekele, Seifu Degu and Chane Kebede were released on bail on 23 June. They had been accused of inciting violence in demonstrations in Dessie town against alleged election fraud, which they denied, but they were not formally charged. Amnesty International considered them prisoners of conscience, imprisoned solely because of their role as leading members of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) branch office in Dessie.