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Ethiopia
Urgent appeals
667. On 23 January 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression regarding Ahmed Haji Wasse, a reporter for the information department of the Afar region, who was covering the fighting between Afar rebels and government troops in the Afdera district. According to the allegations received, on 3 October 2003, he was arrested in Asaita, a town in the Afar region by the security forces, and has disappeared since then.
668. On 27 January 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression regarding Terfessa Barkessa, Million Diriba, Getachew Gadissa, Imira Gemechu, Tamirat Gemechu, Temesgen Gemeda, Balina Manocha and Merga Namo, male students from the Oromo ethnic group. According to the allegations received, on 18 January 2004 in the evening, they were arrested on the Addis Ababa University campus by police officers after protests at a cultural performance stage by the Oromia region ruling party. They were taken to Kolfe police camp. Some reports claimed that over 500 students were arrested and that 240 were still detained. On 22 January 2004, police reported that 315 students had been released but suspended for a year, and that 18 remained in custody for possible charges of criminal damage or expulsion from the university.
669. On 20 April 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression concerning Abebe Chimdi, Dinsa Serbessa, Mosissa Futasa, Tesfaye Teressa, Ashebir Oncho, Merga Legesse, Woldeyesus Mengesha, teachers in Gudar High School and in Ambo secondary school and some 50 others. According to the allegations received, on 9 April 2004, they were arrested in the western Oromia Region, west of Addis Ababa, in connection with demonstrations by school students in the towns of Ambo and Gudar that began in late February 2004. These persons are detained incommunicado in a police detention centre in Ambo Palace. In the context of these demonstrations, many of the demonstrators were severely beaten. Some are said to have been released after some days with warnings, but hundreds are allegedly still in detention without charge or trial.
670. On 28 May 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women regarding the situation in the rural areas of Gambella. In a communication dated 30 January 2004 by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, during the period between 13 and 15 December 2003, 424 Anuak were reportedly killed by Ethiopian government troops along with local people from highland areas, in the towns of Abobo, Itang, Gog and Gambella. Over 200 were wounded and approximately 85 people remain unaccounted for. The pretext for these massacres is reported to have been an attack on a van carrying eight United Nations and Ethiopian government refugee officials on 13 December 2003, which was blamed on members of the Anuak ethnic group. Recent reports indicate that killings and other acts of ethnic cleansing are continuing. According to the allegations received, some 1,100 persons belonging to the Anuak people were killed by Ethiopian troops. Entire villages have been burnt to the ground, sometimes with the occupants still in their homes, and crops have also been destroyed. Many villagers have been forced to flee, and thousands have travelled to a refugee camp in Pochalla in the Sudan. Destruction is said to be widespread, with hundreds of homes and fields set ablaze, leaving thousands of persons without shelter or food. The upcoming rainy season will expose these persons to disease and starvation unless immediate humanitarian action is taken. Around 5,000 Ethiopian troops have been engaged in fighting against Anuak farmers at Tedo village since 10 April 2004, and have burned down all of the village’s houses and crops. The troops may now be moving towards Pochalla refugee camp in the Sudan. Certain groups are being specifically targeted, such as Anuak women and girls, who have been systematically raped. A police officer is said to have recorded 138 cases of rape in Gambella in December 2003, before being ordered to stop recording cases. Educated men are being subjected to selective, politically motivated extra-judicial executions. Several hundred persons, including community leaders have been arbitrarily arrested, many of whom are being detained incommunicado and subjected to torture.
671. On 23 June 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Rapporteur on the right to health regarding Imiru Gurmessa Birru. According to the information received, he was arrested in mid-March 2004 and has not been charged despite at least five court appearances. The hearings were adjourned on each occasion to allow the police additional time to present evidence against him. At the time of his arrest, he was beaten at the central police investigation unit known as Maikelawi, and was denied medical treatment for his injuries and for his diabetic condition. Imiru Gurmessa Birru’s state of health was ignored at the hearings, and subsequently it deteriorated to the extent that he required hospitalization at the Police Hospital, Addis Ababa, around 11 June 2004. He continues to be denied adequate medical treatment. Imiru Gurmessa Birru was detained without charge in 2000 for supporting the Oromo Liberation Front, was tortured and has suffered ill health ever since.
672. On 29 September 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the
Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Special
Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression regarding Abdu Mohamed
Zein, Abdulaziz Abba-Fitta, Balina Gudina, Getinet Gemechu, Ms. Khadija Hassan,
Siraj Mohamed and Tesemma Olessa. According to the allegations received, on 26 August
2004, they were arrested in Agoro town, Oromia region, along with a number of other people
accused of having links with the armed opposition Oromo Liberation Front. Some of them
were subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment while in detention. The whereabouts
of Getinet Gemechu are unknown since his arrest. The other detainees are being held in
incommunicado detention without charge or trial in Agaro Prison. They have not been
brought to court within the 48-hour period required by law.
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This report has been published by Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights on July 27, 2005.