In a twist of fate worthy of Hollywood, the final Global Review panel of the semester at Illinois State University will have as a panelist the daughter of one of Global Review s founders, a man who has been held in an Ethiopian prison for five years and who was officially adopted as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. Taye Woldesemiate, president of the Ethiopian Teachers Association, was charged with conspiracy against high level personnel in the Ethiopian government and recently was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sedition. Woldesemiate pleaded not guilty and many human rights organizations have insisted that the charges are trumped up. Simeret s human rights were denied in Ethiopia and she gained political asylum in the U.S. Several Illinois State students from Professor Carlos Parodi s Human Rights class also will participate.
Admission is free and open to the public.