Europe and America Have to Break Ties with the Racist Ethio-Fascist Abyssinian Tyranny
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
March 15, 2010
In the light of evidence brought forth by the Report, it becomes clear that democratic nations in Europe and America cannot afford to further recognize the monstrous tyranny that was formed through invasions of neighboring nations and peoples before more than 100 years, and has been ever since ruled by means of serial multi-genocides.
African Diasporas must mobilize all their resources in Europe and America, reach out NGOs, associations, parliaments, activists, intellectuals and democratic politicians and statesmen, and thus force Europe and the US to totally break their relations with the inhuman tyranny, and successfully impose an embargo on Abyssinia (fake Ethiopia), as an alarming warning before a UN intervention and liberation of the subjugated nations.
I herewith republish further parts of the OSG Report, and I will complete in several forthcoming articles.
Oromia Support Group Report 45 - March 2010
Political detention and killings in Ethiopia 2008 - 2010
http://www.oromoliberationfront.org/news/2010/Report_45[1].pdf
Contents
2010: Opposition threatened, detained and branded illegal
Recent wave of arrests in Oromia Region: shootings
Tigray Arena party arrests and threats
Political persecution and killings in 2008
Crackdown on Oromo, October/November: accusations of terrorism
Refoulement from Kenya: terrorist label
More killings and arrests: new ´silent torture´
Political persecution and killings in 2009
January: Killing, arrests, terrorism charges
February: Torture, rape, harassment, arrests, death by torture
March: Attempted assassination, killing, arrests
April: Terrorism charges and convictions, Birtukan Mideksa
Ginbot 7 arrests
May: Detention, killings, death from torture, CUD sentences
June: Beatings, Ginbot 7 charges, torture, tax evasion, terrorism
July: Anti-Terrorism Law
Human Rights League: Oromo political prisoners´ appeal
Torture methods
Prison conditions
Dozens of Oromo arrested: student tortured
August: Convictions, arrests, torture, harassment
September: Pre-trial detention, Medrek and other arrests, torture
October: UDJ members arrested, beaten, raped
Surveillance and intimidation in Dembi Dollo
November: Denial of food aid and food-for-work programme
Intense surveillance: Toronto Globe and Mail
December: Ginbot 7 death sentences
No level playing field for the 2010 election - Dr. Negasso Gidada
Appendices
Lelise Wodajo and two of her three children
The Oromo Parliamentarians Council reported on 16 November that arrests were still occurring across Oromia – in Addis Ababa, Bedano, Burqa, Kurfa, Calle, Gurawan, Metta, Gedo, Nekemte and Finca´a. They and OMHRO (17 November) also reported that the following 13 civilians were killed by security forces in Sanbato district, Wollo zone:
Abba Adam
Adama Umer Kubi
Aliyi Muhe
Husuu Aliyi
Jaara Amadee
Mohammed Dina
Mohammed Usee Ali
Mussa Mohammed
Rahammad Abdulla
Saalih Buba
Umaru Ahmed Ali
Umer Buba Umaru
Usee Amada Usee
On 8 December, OMRHO reported more detentions in Golo Oda district of E. Harage. Villagers of Gara Gaafa and Dimtu, in Cabi area, were taken to Burqa prison. They included the top government security official in the area, Abdi Mahadi, and:
Ahmed Saido
Aliyi Mussa
Aliyi Tuke
Ibrahim Ahmed Kadir
Ibrahim Aliyi
Siraj Ahmed, student
Tajudin Sheik Ibrahim
An unknown number of those who were detained in the first two weeks of the crackdown, including the three EHRCO activists in Nekemte, were released within a few weeks. Others appeared repeatedly in court when hearings were adjourned at the request of the police in order for more evidence to be collected. A police request on 24 November for a third adjournment of two weeks was refused and 53 who appeared in court that day returned to court one week later.
However, it was not until 15 December that sixteen of the 53 detainees were charged.
The sixteen included eleven of those named above – Aberash Yadeta, Bayisa Hussein, Bekele Jirata, Bekele Negeri, Dejene Dhaba, Dereje Borena, Eshetu Kitil, Kebede Borena, Lelise Wodajo, Roba Gadafa and Wabe Haji Jarso. It is not clear from reports whether three of the five others who were charged were detained during the October crackdown or before:
Bogale Mossissa Legese, student
Haile Dalassa Hundisa, student (possibly the student named Hailu Dalassa Mirkana, above)
Olana Jabessa Jaalu, graduate of Police College and a colonel in the police force.
Refoulement from Kenya: terrorist label
The most surprising inclusions in the 16 on the December 2008 charge sheets were the two individuals who headed list – Tesfahun Chemeda and Mesfin Abebe. These former civil engineers were last heard of in Nairobi, where they were seeking protection with UNHCR. They disappeared from Nairobi in 2007. Human rights defenders in Nairobi believed that they had been abducted by Ethiopian security men and/or by Kenyan police in cooperation with the Ethiopian embassy. Their location was not known to their families for two years.
HRLHA reported that the 16, who were being held in Maikelawi CID, were charged with at least 11 offences, described in a 38 page document, including causing deaths and damage to properties by explosions in Addis Ababa, as part of their involvement in a network of opposition groups named ´Network 123´ or ´Hawi Bilisuma´. According to the Addis Ababa based Reporter, 17 December, the defendants were accused by the Federal Court Prosecutor of belonging to OLF cells and raising funds for the organisation since 2003. Other detainees, including singer Zerihun Wadajo, were charged with less serious offences.
State-owned media pre-empted the court hearings. After warning of a crackdown on a terrorist plot and appeals for public cooperation and vigilance one day earlier, on 5 November, Ethiopian Television paraded detainees on the screen and reported that incriminating material, including weapons and a 7,000 page OLF document, were found at the time of the arrests. Viewers were informed that the Joint Taskforce of the National Intelligence Security Service and the Federal Police had detained OLF leaders who were plotting terrorist attacks in the capital and recruiting and arming terrorists. Legal opposition political parties, OFDM and OPC, were used as a front for these activities according to the Joint Taskforce, and it called for these parties to expel members who were ´engaged in dismantling the constitution´.
The taskforce also announced that members of a militant Islamic group, with links to the OLF, named ´Kawerj´ or ´Kaworja´ according to reports, had also been arrested for plotting terrorist activities in the capital. The day after parading detainees on television, state media reported the killing of a ´terrorist leader´ in Wallega, who had been responsible for recent explosions in Addis Ababa.
Government spokesman, Bereket Simon, told Reuters (3 November 2008) that OFDM General Secretary Bekele Jirata was ´working hand-in-glove with terrorists´ and ´it is proven he had links with groups like the OLF´. On 24 November, police told the Federal First Instance Court that he was involved in organising and training terrorists.
At their court appearance on 24 November, during which journalists were forbidden to take notes (Reporter, 26 November), defendants reported being denied access to their families and that they had been beaten and taken from their cells at night and tortured (Human Rights Watch, 27 November). Human Rights Watch called for the release of the 53 defendants because of the serious risk of torture.
More killings and arrests: new ´silent torture´
Two Oromo in Saqata, W. Hararge, were shot dead by security forces on 1 December 2008, according to a news report from the OLF (15 December). They included an Oromo elder, Ahmed Adam, aged 68. Both victims were accused of supporting the OLF.
HRLHA reported on 15 January 2009 that 22 Oromo had been detained, including Sileshi Dagafa and Dechassa Merga Debelo, a 31 yr old university lecturer and Master´s student at Addis Ababa University. Dechassa was taken from his workplace at Rift Valley University College in Gullale, Addis Ababa, on 25 December. No warrant was served. Dechassa had previously been detained and tortured in 2004 when he was accused as an undergraduate of coordinating Oromo student protest against the government. His place of detention was initially kept from his family but they were informed he was being held at the Third Police Station (Maikelawi CID) when he was later taken by security forces to witness their search of his home.
Dechassa and Sileshi complained to the court that during detention they were interrogated daily and kept standing for up to 16 hours overnight. At least some of the defendants, including Dechassa, were eventually released on bail on 20 February.
The new ´silent torture´ was used on other political detainees. HRLHA reported that the sixteen charged with OLF terrorist offences under the file of Tesfahun Chemeda and Mesfin Abebe, including Bekele Jirata, complained in court of being tortured by being made to stand for prolonged periods.
Political persecution and killings in 2009
January 2009: Killing, arrests, terrorism charges
HRLA reported on 15 January that businessman Abadir Jamal, 26, was shot dead by security forces in Masal district, Hararge on 4 January. Two other men, Dasi Mohammed and Abdi Maddi (a Somali from Wachalet) were shot and severely wounded in a separate incident and taken to Imach hospital. Residents of Harar and Awaday began protesting in the streets at the killing of Abadir Jamal and ´dozens´ were arrested.
In the same January press release, HRLHA reported that six farmers had been taken from different parts of Wallega on and around 7 October and detained in solitary confinement in Addis Ababa. The men, Gurricho Fida, Gaddafa Mosisa, Dame Qanno, Gammachu Birrasa, Tariku Raaga amd Naga Berhanu had been held incommunicado, ´on alleged political grounds´ 600 km from their families for over three months at the time of reporting.
The private weekly Addis Admas (24 January) reported that 18 members of an Islamic extremist group ´Aarji Worji´, from Wollo, Wallega, Asosa, Silte and Jimma, under the leadership of Mukrim Gedu, were charged at the Second Criminal Bench of the Federal High Court on 21 January 2009. They were accused of arming 80 young men with weapons and bombs and training them in military camps.
According to Reporter on 28 January, a delegation of UDJ members, led by Dr Yacob Haile-Mariam, were arrested with about ten local party activists at Mersa, Amhara Region, a few days previously. The group, which included local MP Birru Bermeja, were arrested for holding a meeting without permission and held briefly at the police station. On 27 January, Mesenazeria reported claims by UDJ´s deputy chairman, Dr Hailu Araya, that the party´s office had been closed in Boditi, SNNPR, by local government officials and that the office guard had been beaten.
Senior figure of the All Ethiopia Unity Party (AEUP) and chairman for North Gondar, Yared Girma, was detained with 67 others on 25 January, reported Andinet (1 February). Local officials and police beat people in the compound of his house and took one to prison during the previous evening, when he was not at home. All were charged with inciting disturbances during Timket celebrations.
February 2009: Torture, rape, harassment, arrests, death by torture
Reuters reported that Bekele Jirata was released 4 February on bail of 5,000 Birr. He told the private weekly Fitih (11 February) that he had been presented with no evidence against him and that books taken from his home at the time of his arrest had been returned. No other documents had been found at his home. He told the paper that on several occasions during his detention, he had been forced to stand for 14-17 hours, sometimes overnight.
On 20 February, the OLF released a list of 86 torture victims who had been detained for up to 12 years in prisons and detention camps throughout Oromia Region. Details of place, duration of detention and some of the injuries are given in Appendix 2. Four of the nine named female detainees had been raped in detention.
Agence France Press (AFP) reported, 26 February, UDJ party claims that its members were being threatened and arrested and that regional offices were being closed down and vandalised by local government forces. AEUP activist Addeye Anjullo was arrested on 23 February when delivering leaflets in Sodo, Walaita (SNNPR), and held until released on bail on 3 March (Jimma Times diaspora blog 28 August, reporting AEUP press release).
On an unspecified date in February, Hassen Ibrahim Tule, also known as Hassan Lakku, 57 yr-old businessman and father of seven, was tortured to death, according to HRLHA (Press Release 16, May 2009). The merchant from Tortora Guda, Bedeno, E. Hararge, was accused of involvement with the OLF. His car, tent, money and other possessions were confiscated by security forces. He had been detained on many occasions since 1992 on suspicion of supporting the OLF.
March 2009: Attempted assassination, killing, arrests
Wondimu Ibssa, OPC Member of Parliament, escaped an assassination attempt in his constituency, Dugda, Arsi, on 1 March (Goggle 13 March). Local police had not begun to investigate the incident two weeks later.
On 3 March, high school student Wondimu Demena was shot dead and two other OPC members injured when police opened fire during a disturbance at Gedo high school, W. Showa (Addis Admas 7 March). Local MP, Dejene Tafa (OPC), said that the students were complaining about racist literature brought to the school, and high fertiliser prices and taxes imposed on farmers. OSG was informed separately that 25 teachers and students were detained during the unrest, including:
Dinqa Kumisa (taken to hospital after beating)
Ababa Shifera, teacher
Biranu Dirriba, teacher
Rabuma Gutu, teacher
Tamiru Tunnee, teacher
Fiqadu Banja, teacher
Teferi, school employee
April 2009: Terrorism charges and convictions, Birtukan Mideksa
Bekele Jirata and another defendant who had been released on bail (see Crackdown on Oromo, October/November, p. 4) appeared with the other 14 defendants at the Third Criminal Bench of the Federal High Court on 14 April, only to be told that the hearing was again adjourned because prosecution witnesses had not turned up. According to private weekly Ethio-Channel (15 April), they were charged with recruiting for the OLF in Kenya, running military training camps and, as were the ´Kawerj´ group, with planting bombs in Addis Ababa (see Refoulement from Kenya: terrorist label, p. 9). Ethio-Channel also reported that Zeleke Kibebew and Major Kembere were found guilty by the Second Criminal Bench and sentenced to four years imprisonment for communicating with the OLF. Nine other defendants were found guilty and sentenced in absentia. Four others were found guilty on 15 April and given sentences of 12 years to life for terrorist offences (Ethio-Channel 18 April).
After 15 weeks detention, UDJ leader Birtukan Mideksa was granted permission to receive visits from family and friends on 15 April by court order, but the condition of solitary confinement was not lifted and the Federal Police Commission did not comply with lifting the visitor restrictions for at least another month (Addis Admas 18 April and 30 May).
Ginbot 7 arrests
Following Dr Berhanu Nega´s formation of the Ginbot 7 group and his exortation for followers to overthrow the Ethiopian government by any possible means, about 35 were arrested on 24 April, amid claims that weapons, explosives, satellite and radio communication equipment and military uniforms were found at their homes. The group is named after the date of the 2005 national election (15 May) when CUD politician Berhanu Nega was elected Mayor of Addis Ababa. He was detained alongside more than 100 CUD members and has lived as an academic in the USA since his pardon and release in 2007. State Media and Voice of America radio (27 April), Sendek (29 April) and Reporter (3 May) reported that the group consisted of a military wing, led by Brigadier-General Terefe Mamo and staffed by members of the Ethiopian armed forces, and a civilian wing, led by another former CUD detainee and now high-ranking UDJ official, Melaku Tefera, and staffed by government and private organisation employees.
Members of the police, army and air force were among those arrested, including Brigadier-General Asaminew Tsige, Colonel Fantahun Muhabe, Lieutenant Azeze, Major Adamu Getinet, Major Sisay Aberra, Lt.-Colonel Demissew and Captain Mohammed Jemal Abamecha. Tsige Habte-Mariam, the 80 yr-old father of exiled former CUD politician Andargachew Tsige, was among the detainees. He is diabetic and recently had heart surgery (Amnesty International Press Release, 5 May). A cousin of Berhanu Nega, Getu Worku was also among those detained, according to Amnesty International. Berhanu Nega´s parents´ home was surrounded by security forces and their phones confiscated. Detainees also included former judge, Goshu Yirad Tsegaw, who, with Birtukan Mideksa, had presided over the trial for corruption of former TPLF central committee member, Siye Abraha (Addis Neger 9 May and 13 June).
On 2 May, AFP reported that 40 had been detained and Reporter 6 May wrote of the brief detention of Ayne Tsige, the sister of Andargachew Tsige, and wife of Minister of Capacity Building, Tefera Walwa. She had protested to police who were arresting her elderly father.
Amnesty International wrote that the detainees were believed to be held at Maikelawi CID.
May 2009: Detention, killings, death from torture, CUD sentences
Sileshi Belay, an OPC elected member for Horo Guduru in the Oromia Regional Council, was detained for ten days in Shambu, Wallega (Mesenazeria 19 May). He had only been released for a few weeks since his detention for three years on charges of inciting riots after the 2005 election demonstrations.
Two AEUP members in Eastern Bellessa Woreda, Gezat and Shambel Admassu, were killed by local security forces on 13 and 18 May respectively, according to the AEUP (Jimma Times, Oromo diaspora blog, 28 August).
HRLHA (Press Release 16, May 2009) reported torture leading to the death of Abdurashid Ibrahim Adam on 8 May. The 38 yr-old farmer was held in Burqaa Tirtiraa prison in E. Hararge and subjected to repeated whipping and beating while suspended upside down with arms and legs tied behind him, because of his suspected involvement with the OLF. He was twice taken for medical treatment from the prison before he died.
Abdulrashid Ibrahim Adam
The private weekly Ethio-Channel reported on 10 May that the cases against 55 CUD members, most of whom had been imprisoned along with the CUD leaders who were pardoned and released in July 2007, had been finally decided at the Federal High Court on 8 May. All but one were found guilty of attempting to overthrow the constitutional system and sentenced to 3-18 years in prison.
June 2009: Beatings, Ginbot 7 charges, torture, tax evasion, terrorism
UDJ deputy chairman Dr Hailu Araya reported that party officials in S. Wollo, Amhara Region, had been beaten and harassed by security forces. Five victims were named in the Awramba Times report on 9 June.
The Federal Supreme Court named 46 defendants accused of intending to commit terrorist offences on behalf of Ginbot 7 (Addis Neger 13 June). Six were indicted in absentia, including Dr Berhanu Nega, four other former CUD leaders and former editors of Netsanet and Addis Zena newspapers. The remaining 40 included seven Federal Police Inspectors, Sergeants and Deputy Sergeants as well as the senior officers in the armed forces named above (p.12).
Reuters, 15 June, reported claims by relatives that the Ginbot 7 defendants had been tortured. One had to be treated in hospital for genital injuries, according to Ethiopian Review, 16 June. The lawyer acting for Getu Worku requested an independent medical report but was told that the prison doctor was sufficient. Brigadier-General Asaminew Tsige asked the court why he and four others were being kept in solitary confinement at Kaliti.
Ethiopian Human Rights Council chairman and former Supreme Court Judge, Abebe Worke, Voice of America radio journalist, Meleskachew Ameha, and two others were charged with evading duty on goods belonging to Addis Broadcasting plc., owned by Berhanu Nega, and appeared in court on 15 June. Meleschew Ameha had had his broadcasting license temporarily suspended earlier in the year because of government criticism of VOA. Although released on bail, they may face prison sentences if found guilty. (EthioGuardian.com 17 June, Addis Admass and VOA).
On 26 June, Reuters reported that three alleged OLF terrorists were arrested in Horo Guduru, Wallega, for beating Chinese workers at the Neshie Dam construction project and stealing office equipment and money. They were paraded on state television with guns, communications equipment and bomb-making materials.
July 2009: Anti-Terrorism Law
The Ethiopian government passed the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation on 7 July. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), 30 June, the proclamation could be used to ´criminalize acts of peaceful political dissent´. Under the new law, a ´non-violent march that blocked traffic could qualify as a terrorist act, subjecting protestors to 15 years to life in prison, or possibly even the death penalty´ wrote the organisation. A ´group of two or more individuals who engage in peaceful political protest could be deemed a "terrorist organization" and membership deemed a crime, subject to 5-20 years "rigorous imprisonment". . . . Someone who advised, or even just offered water and food to a political protester might find themselves charged with terrorism . . . [S]omeone who held a sign used in a non-violent political protest that blocked traffic could arguably be found guilty of possession of property used to commit a terrorist act.´
HRW declared that the proclamation ´criminalizes speech ambiguously "encouraging," "advancing," or "in support" of terrorist acts even if there is no direct incitement to violence.´ ´[E]ven someone merely voicing support for such a demonstration without participating—could be subjected to a 10-20 year prison term. . . . even a mundane newspaper article describing an Oromo student protest could be deemed "encouragement of terrorism." . . . A journalist interviewing an opposition politician or a supporter of an armed opposition group could be deemed to be "encouraging" terrorism merely by publicizing the views of the interviewee.´
The proclamation ´gives the police and other security services almost unlimited power to conduct body searches, and search or seize property based solely on the belief that terrorist activity "will be" or has been committed.´ Security services may intercept any form of communication, destroy property or restrict movement. The new law ´grants the police the power to make arrests without a warrant, so long as the officer "reasonably suspects" that the person is committing or has committed a terrorist act´ and ´sets new evidentiary standards for terrorism cases . . . that are far more permissive than the rules covering ordinary cases. Under these new rules, hearsay or "indirect evidences" can be admitted in court without any limitation. Official intelligence reports can also be admitted "even if the report does not disclose the source or the method it was gathered." By making intelligence reports admissible in court even if the sources and methods are not disclosed, the law effectively allows evidence obtained under torture . . .´
Human Rights League: Oromo political prisoners´ appeal
On 25 July 2009, HRLHA published a document compiled by Oromo political prisoners enitled ´Oromo Political Prisoners´ Plight and Appeal´. They wrote:
We, Oromo nationals from all walks of life - farmers, students, teachers, business persons, entrepreneurs, government employees, engineers, medical doctors, youths, elderly, men, women, children etc. brought from all over Oromia and accused of being either members or supporters of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) have been subjected to brutal tortures, ill treatments and very harsh prison situations imposed by the TPLF/EPRDF government of Ethiopia.
The report concluded:
We would like to inform everyone that this report is not all inclusive. Firstly, it does not reflect the whole reality of the current prison situations in most Ethiopian political prisons. Secondly, it doesn´t cover all, especially the secret and the unofficial prisons and detention centres where most Ethiopian political prisoners are held under the current regime. This is mainly due to lack of communication and very tight control over the exchange and flow of information. As a result, hundreds of political prisoners languishing in the same terrible prison situations in different places (for example Bahir Transit prison here in the capital, Mekele prison in Tigray) have not been included.
The document listed 110 prisoners who have been sentenced. Four, Sheik Ismael Muda, Ali Jemal (Aba Magal) and Ararsa Abba Humna from Hararge, and Fiseha Birassa from Wallega, have been sentenced to death and had already spent 16 years in detention by July 2009. Eleven have been sentenced to life imprisonment, 40 to 10-18 years, 32 to 5-9 years and the remainder to 1-4 years in prison. Their names, place of birth, sentences and time spent in prison are given in Appendix 3.
The prisoners´ appeal listed 140 detainees who were awaiting sentence by the courts. These included the 16 who were charged on 15 December 2008, Mesfin Abebe and Tesfahun Chemeda who were subject to refoulement from Kenya, 11 who were rounded up in October 2008 and three others. A complete list of names, place of birth and duration of pre-trial detention is given in Appendix 4. Of these awaiting sentence, 111 had been in detention for one year or more, and 34 for two years or more by the time of the report in July 2009.
The prisoners reported that children, siblings and families were being held together with some of those listed in Appendix 4 as being held in pre-trial detention. Only those of the following who are marked with an asterisk * are listed: Atsede Imana, 45 yrs old, from Addis Ababa, held with her two children Dereje and Seena Mulissa; 70 yr-old Qanno Shibo from W. Wallega, imprisoned with his son Dame Qanno; Tamiru Tafesse* from W. Wallega, held with his 66 yr-old father Tafesse Dafissa; siblings Qajela* and Obsa Banti* from W. Wallega; Jabeesa and Dastayew Deresse from Metekile; Sanbata and Mekonnen Chimdessa; Tafari Birassa* and his sister Alamitu Birassa; Diribe* and her brother Dagu Itana* from W. Wallega. Girma Ragassa* was imprisoned with his wife Urge Imana and their three yr-old child Bontu. ´These are very few of the numerous similar cases´ wrote the prisoners.
Torture methods
The prisoners´ report listed 29 among ´many other forms of torture´ practised upon them ´by the Federal Police Crime and Forensic Investigation Main Division, National Security and Intelligence Service, and Federal Police Anti-Terrorist Task Force´. The full list, given in Appendix 5, included prolonged shackling in painful positions; beating, punching and whipping; suspension from pegs; beating of the soles of the feet and sensitive areas such as shins and genitalia; mouths being stuffed with filthy material; being forced to consume their own faeces and urine; suspension of weights from testicles (resulting in castration in one case); being forced to exercise, often naked, until collapse; walking over broken glass; sleep deprivation; needles being forced under fingernails; evulsion of fingernails; insertion of objects into female genitalia; electric shocks; mock execution with a pistol inserted into the mouth or being threatened with being pushed from high points (´usually Entoto Cliff´); being hit on the head and threatened with shooting while buried up to the neck; dry shaving of the head with glass or razor; prolonged lying naked on cold concrete floors, and; being forced to observe themselves being shot in the leg or hand.
At the end of the list, the prisoners wrote that any complaints about torture made by the prisoners in court were followed by ´severe punishments/torture, worse than the ones he or she complained about´.
Prison conditions
The report contained details of the harsh conditions in Kaliti prison – overcrowding, with hundreds crammed into single, poorly ventilated rooms, exposed to lice, fleas and TB, lack of sanitation, insufficient drinking and washing water, sleeping on cold concrete floors, almost no access to medical care, and ´complaints against all these human rights violations being severely punishable´.
Dozens of Oromo arrested: student tortured
On 1 August, HRLHA reported (in Press Release 18) that dozens of Oromo had been detained in a wave of arrests in the capital under the pretext of involvement with the OLF. HRLHA named the following three who were detained on 23 July:
Taye Danda´a Arado, 5th year law student at Addis Ababa University
Bayisa Dhaba Lata, employee of Dukam Municipality (Southern suburb of Addis Ababa)
Muse Ali, government employee
Another detainee, Zalaka Benya, was named later by the OLF (16 September).
Taye was an outstanding student who was due to graduate three days after his arrest and had been offered a teaching post at the university. He had been detained with Macha-Tulama Association members in early 2004 and had remained in detention for nearly three years, until released in late 2006. He had been a key figure in the university Oromo language society (the Afaan Oromo Club), was an active member of the Union of Oromo Students at the university and had been involved with the graduation ceremony and the Oromo Students Graduation Bulletin, which was not allowed to be published. He was taken from in front of the main university campus by plain-clothed security officers and held incommunicado with Bayisa and Muse at Maikelawi CID. Ethiomedia reported on 6 October that Taye had been tortured and that his place of detention was no longer known.
Note
Picture: Lelise Wodajo and her children
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