Innocent deaf man jailed for six weeks without sign language interpreter

An American citizen who was born in Ethiopia was jailed for six weeks in Arlington County, Virginia, after he was accused of stealing his own iPad. While this confusion might have been quickly settled under more typical circumstances, Abreham Zemedagegehu is deaf, and though he is fluent in American Sign Language, his written English is only rudimentary.

Zemedagegehu was not provided with a sign language interpreter in jail and had no way of communicating with police throughout his imprisonment, which continued despite the fact that there is an entire New York Times article from 2013 focused on him and how he uses iPad. While in jail, he was confused about why he was being detained and was subjected to medical tests he did not understand.

Zemedagegehu is now suing the sheriff's office after accepting a plea deal as his only apparent means to leave jail, despite his innocence. The sheriff's lawyers maintain that the failure to provide a translator was not illegal because it was not intentional discrimination.

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