The Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church has issued an appeal for mercy for those sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia.
Key points in the Patriarch’s message included urging the Ethiopian government to conduct high-level talks with Saudi authorities to cancel the death penalty and to pay special attention to the return of our people to their homes.
He called on the Saudi authorities, based on the historic friendship between the two countries, to show mercy to those sentenced to death and to commute the sentences to imprisonment with fatherly compassion.
He also called on human rights defenders to save innocent lives sentenced to death due to lack of language proficiency or failure to follow proper legal procedures.
Father Matthias directed his fatherly message to the Christian community, urging them to pray for their people and work toward finding a solution. Matthias said, “Judgment without mercy invites the wrath of God,” emphasizing that no one should lose their life because of a language misunderstanding.
