As part of the worldwide rally, hundreds of Ethiopians living in Germany held a demonstration on January 14, 2009 before the Office of the Ethiopian Consulate in Frankfurt protesting the rearrest of opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa. The peacefull protestors called for her release and all other political prisoners including Bekele Jirata, General Secretary of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) party; Abera Yemane-Ab, a long time political activist who led a delegation from the United States in 1993 representing the Coalition of Ethiopian Democratic Forces (COEDF) and was imprisoned upon his arrival at the Bole International Airport.
