Authored By: Birhan Asmare Adane
Bahirdar University
- Case Title & Citation
Case Title: Abduction and Forced Marriage Self-Defense Case
Citation: Federal High Court of Ethiopia, Criminal Bench
- Court Name & Bench
Court: Federal High Court of Ethiopia
Bench: Criminal Bench
Judge: Meaza Ashenafi
- Date of Judgment
January 2, 2015
- Parties Involved
Petitioner: Public Prosecutor
Respondent/Defendant: 14-year-old girl (name withheld for privacy)
5. Facts of the Case
The defendant, a 14-year-old girl, was abducted for the purpose of forced marriage (telefa).
She was confined, threatened, and subjected to coercion to compel marriage without consent.
During an escape attempt, she shot her abductor using a firearm obtained during the struggle.
Authorities arrested her and charged her with homicide.
- Issues Raised
Whether the killing constituted lawful self-defense under Ethiopian criminal law.
Whether customary practice (telefa) mitigates criminal responsibility.
Alignment with constitutional guarantees under Article 35 of the FDRE Constitution.
- Arguments of the Parties
Prosecution:
The killing was unlawful and disproportionate.
Non-lethal alternatives might have existed.
The act constituted intentional homicide.
Defense:
The girl faced an imminent and grave threat to life and bodily integrity.
Lethal force was necessary and proportionate given the circumstances.
Customary practices cannot override criminal law and human rights obligations.
- Judgment / Final Decision
The court acquitted the defendant, recognizing the killing as justified self-defense under exigent circumstances.
- Legal Reasoning
Immediacy and continuity of threat satisfied the self-defense requirement.
Proportionality and necessity justified lethal force given age and confinement.
Customary practice (telefa) cannot override constitutional and criminal law protections.
Court reasoning anticipated Article 35 of the FDRE Constitution.
10. Conclusion
This landmark case affirmed that harmful customs cannot excuse violence and reinforced Ethiopia’s trajectory toward rights-based adjudication of GBV.
Reference(S):
Feminist Majority Foundation, Ethiopia Appoints Women’s Rights Champion to Head Supreme Court (2018).
UN Women Constitutions Database, Ethiopia: Constitution of the FDRE (1995) — Article 35.
Tigist Shewarega Hussen, Empowering the nation, disempowering women: The case of Kitcha Customary Law in Ethiopia.
