I denounce the Ethiopian government and its financial backers—the US, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, and the World Bank, which provide financing to Ethiopia through international aid packages—for the unjust imprisonment of Omot Agwa Okwoy, Ashinie Astin, and Jamal Oumar Hojele. Helping to give indigenous and marginalized people a voice about their most precious resources—their land and their food—is NOT terrorism; it is the foundation of a democratic and sustainable development policy. I call on the government of Ethiopia to drop of all charges against the detainees and release them immediately. SIGNED: NumberDate First Name Last Name City State/Province Country Add a personal comment here: 1 10/20/15 lynda leigh Santa Cruz California United States 2 10/20/15 AwayNoFwdStars Vieira Staten Island New York United States 3 10/20/15 JL Angell Rescue California United States 4 10/20/15 Tanya Kerssen Elk River Minnesota United States 5 10/20/15 Dennis Kaplan Mayfield Heights Ohio United States 6 10/20/15 Kassahun woldehanna Annandale Virginia United States 7 10/20/15 Rebecca Hurtado Thames Ditton United Kingdom 8 10/20/15 Ake Lindberg Eskilstuna Sweden 9 10/20/15 Kathryn Irby Gulfport Mississippi United States 10 10/20/15 Julie Shmeleva Moscow Russian Federation 11 10/20/15 julie Hoffer Brooklyn New York United States 12 10/20/15 Tammy Andrews Palm Desert California United States 13 10/20/15 Jen Valentino Coventry Rhode Island United States 14 10/20/15 Devlin Kuyek Montreal Canada 15 10/20/15 Nyikaw Ochalla Reading United Kingdom 16 10/20/15 Mamy Rakotondrainibe Paris France 18 10/20/15 Anuradha Mittal Oakland California United States 19 10/20/15 Anne G Cologne Germany 20 10/20/15 Elizabeth Fraser Oakland California United States 21 10/20/15 Sandra Grabski Napa California United States 22 10/20/15 Alice Martin-Prével Oakland California United States 23 10/20/15 Scott Woods Loveland Colorado United States 24 10/20/15 Shirley Loegering Grand Rapids Minnesota United States 25 10/20/15 Paul Shorter Huddersfield United Kingdom 26 10/20/15 Yodie Rama saint-denis France 27 10/20/15 Concerned Citizen New City New York United States 28 10/20/15 Marilyn Borchardt Oakland Afghanistan 29 10/20/15 Eshete Hailu Ottawa Canada Being interested in and advocating for the welfare of others is a commendable act and not terrorism. The government should be discouraged from fabricating fake terrorism charges against innocent citizens. 30 10/20/15 christina gutierrez Safford Arizona United States 31 10/20/15 Ojulu Didumo Edmonton Canada Having known Omot Agwa Okway in person, I can say with certainty that the charges leveled against him are baseless. All he has done has been to speak the truth and stand for justice. In the interest of development of democratic culture and civil society engagement, I urge the Ethiopian Government to drop all charges against Omot and his co-accuseds immediately. 32 10/20/15 Roger Roman Sandton South Africa 33 10/20/15 Ulrike Bokelmann Strasbourg France 34 10/20/15 Simon PERRIN Paris France 35 10/21/15 Manuschak Karnusian Mittelhäusern Switzerland 36 10/21/15 Tina Goethe Bern Switzerland 37 10/21/15 Glynnis Ritter Malmo Sweden 38 10/21/15 Marianne Jensen Vanløse, Denmark 39 10/21/15 Paul Kilama Wallington United Kingdom Tribally motivated forceful seizure of customary land of any group of people is a gross abuse of power and gross violation of fundamental human rights. 40 10/21/15 John Webster Helsinki Finland 41 10/21/15 liliane nabat riec sur belon France 42 10/21/15 Veronika Selstam Lund Sweden 43 10/21/15 Ed Lever malmö Sweden 44 10/21/15 Bitte Rosencrantz Lund Sweden 45 10/21/15 Lalremruata Chhakchhuak Aizawl India 46 10/21/15 THOMAS Younger Glasgow United Kingdom 47 10/21/15 Firoze Manji Nairobi Kenya 48 10/21/15 Amanda Sheedy Montreal Canada The world is watching and we do not appreciate activists being punished for defending people's rights. 49 10/21/15 Nydia Dauphin Montreal Canada 50 10/21/15 E. Ann Clark Warkworth Canada 51 10/21/15 David Kuyek Montreal Canada 52 10/21/15 Steven McFadden Lincoln Nebraska United States Please adhere to the principles of justice. Upon that so much depends. 53 10/21/15 teresa lynne port coq Canada 54 10/21/15 Katie Bradley Oakland California United States 55 10/21/15 Diane Picard Buffalo New York United States 56 10/21/15 Daniel Robles Bell Gardens California United States 57 10/21/15 L Walters Santa Fe New Mexico United States 58 10/21/15 Gillian Miller Miami Florida United States 59 10/21/15 John Brewer Marieta Ohio United States 60 10/21/15 Anna Looby Minneapolis Minnesota United States 61 10/21/15 Emily Goss San Diego California United States 62 10/21/15 Jenessa H Arlington Virginia United States 63 10/21/15 Lauren Howe Denver Colorado United States 64 10/21/15 sheila freeman London United Kingdom food security is important for all your people. These campaigners should be honoured not imprisoned 65 10/21/15 Camilla Becket Ojai California United States 66 10/21/15 Curtis Kline Conifer Colorado United States 67 10/21/15 max cadji Oakland California United States 68 10/21/15 Golam Sorowor Dhaka Bangladesh 69 10/21/15 Kate Jones Tewin United Kingdom 70 10/21/15 Hajra Waheed Montreal Canada 72 10/21/15 Christian COULMAIN Bézu St Eloi France 73 10/21/15 Tony Beck Salt Spring Island Canada 74 10/21/15 Paul Shepherd Beccles United Kingdom 76 10/21/15 Nicole Crouch Courtenay Canada 77 10/21/15 Valeria Mazzardo Foggia Italy 78 10/21/15 M Ahsan Qureshi Karachi Pakistan 79 10/21/15 lauren Ornelas Cotati California United States 80 10/21/15 Mark Stewart Aberdeen United Kingdom 81 10/21/15 Frederic Mousseau Oakland California United States 82 10/21/15 Ercoph Bongomin Deer Lodge Montana United States Please release the Anywak peace activists 83 10/21/15 Almuth Ernsting Edinburgh United Kingdom 84 10/21/15 Agwa Gilo Winnipeg Canada 85 10/21/15 emilia hanna edinburgh United Kingdom 86 10/21/15 Whil Omas Austin Minnesota United States 87 10/21/15 John Michael Portland Maine United States Free pastor Omot Agwa 88 10/21/15 Becki DeRusseau Merriam Kansas United States 89 10/21/15 Anna Serra Barcelona Spain 90 10/21/15 Okongo Ongwach coon rapids Minnesota United States 91 10/21/15 Sarah Howard New Orleans Louisiana United States 92 10/21/15 Domingo Russo Monteros Argentina 93 10/21/15 Ojulu Lero Silver spring Maryland United States 94 10/21/15 Sara Lavenhar Seattle Washington United States 95 10/21/15 Frances Murrell Fitzroy Australia 96 10/21/15 Zahra Moloo Montreal Canada 97 10/21/15 Yaniya Lee Toronto Canada 98 10/21/15 Dawit Wondimu Svolvær Norway 99 10/21/15 lillian belanger vancouver Canada 100 10/21/15 Mustafa Adam Minneapolis Minnesota United States This has stop. We can't afford to mistreat each other in Africa. 101 10/21/15 Josh Klemm Takoma Park Maryland United States 102 10/21/15 Isabelle Branchaud montreal Canada 103 10/21/15 Elizabeth Neuse Hamden Connecticut United States 104 10/21/15 Karen Rothschild Hudson Canada Land should remain in the hands of local people and be used for growing food. The human rights of those who are defending the land should be respected. 105 10/21/15 Christine Harris Richmond Virginia United States 106 10/21/15 Nicole Arsenault Halifax Canada These people should be released to safety immediately! 107 10/21/15 Obang Jobi Savage Minnesota United States Free Pastor Omot! Where in the world for being World Bank translator is crime? Only in Ethiopia! 108 10/21/15 Ambaw A Kitchener Canada 109 10/21/15 Jonathan Erick Carvajal Puebla Mexico 110 10/21/15 Heylan Tsumagari Barrytown New York United States 111 10/21/15 Beatriz Montenegro Vigo Spain 112 10/21/15 Andree Germain Ottawa Canada 113 10/21/15 John Tuxill Bellingham Washington United States Please immediately release these individuals who have done nothing wrong. Land grabbing by foreign investors must end and is a problem eminently worthy of community activism. 114 10/21/15 Anywaa Omot Gambela Ethiopia 115 10/21/15 Janet Surman Mugla Turkey 116 10/21/15 eusebio manuel vestiasvestias pe Borba Portugal 117 10/21/15 Alice McGough Mashpee Massachusetts United States 118 10/21/15 meshegech mekonen la California United States 119 10/21/15 Jonas Waxman Oakland California United States 120 10/21/15 William Zakaria Calgary Canada 121 10/21/15 Christian Bosshard BIel Switzerland 122 10/21/15 Raychel Santo Springboro Ohio United States 123 10/21/15 Razay Rajoharison meudon France Together we make a success ! 124 10/22/15 Sabine Pallas Brake Germany 125 10/22/15 Phaedra Sawbridge London United Kingdom 126 10/22/15 Melanie Todd South Shields United Kingdom 127 10/22/15 Michael Wale London United Kingdom The UK gives aid money to Ethiopia. If Human Rights issues arise like that if Omot then we will bring it to the notice of our local MP 128 10/22/15 Matilda Bradshaw Diss United Kingdom Exchange of ideas for the common good is not a crime. 129 10/22/15 John Orbell Forest Row United Kingdom 130 10/22/15 Stanley Knill London United Kingdom 131 10/22/15 Edd Colbert Berkhamsted United Kingdom 132 10/22/15 Gisele Maciel London United Kingdom 133 10/22/15 Aisha D london United Kingdom 134 10/22/15 Katy Scholfield Cambridge United Kingdom 135 10/22/15 Laura Miller London United Kingdom It is wrong to arrest people who wish for a better future, when all is being stolen from them.