ETH 001 / 1007 / OBS 133
Arbitrary detention / Judicial proceedings /
Fear of torture or ill-treatment
Ethiopia
October 23, 2007
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention on the following situation in Ethiopia:
The Observatory has been informed by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) about the ongoing arbitrary detention of five teachers and leaders of the Ethiopian Teachers’ Association (ETA).
According to the information received, Messrs. Anteneh Getnet, a member of the ETA Addis Ababa Regional Council, Meqcha Mengistu, local ETA chairperson in the East Gojjam area as well as a member of the ETA Committee responsible for the implementation of an HIV/AIDS education programme (EFAIDS), and Woldie Dana, another ETA leader, were arrested in May and June 2007[1]. In addition, Mrs. Wibit Legamo, the wife of Mr. Woldia Dana, and Mr. Berrhanu Aba-Debissa, another ETA member, were arrested in August 2007.
They are all still being held in detention at the Kaliti Prison, in Addis Ababa, and would have been denied bail. In addition, they are reportedly due to appear in court on November 27, 28 and 29, 2007. They were allegedly accused of being members of the Ethiopian People’s Patriotic Front (EPPF), an armed opposition group.
The Observatory fears for the physical and psychological integrity of Messrs. Anteneh Getnet, Meqcha Mengistu, Woldie Dana, Berrhanu Aba-Debissa and Mrs. Wibit Legamo as they are at risk of being subjected to torture or ill-treatment while in detention, and fears that the accusation against them might only aim at discrediting and sanctioning their activity in favour of human rights in Ethiopia.
The Observatory indeed recalls that ETA members have been harassed and repressed for many years (see 2006 Annual Report of the Observatory).
In December 2006, Messrs. Anteneh Getnet, Meqcha Mengistu and Woldie Dana, along with Mr. Tilahun Ayalew, another ETA official, had already been arrested[2], before being released in March 2007. They had also been accused of being members of the EPPF but a court had ruled on March 22, 2007 that it had found no evidence to support the charge.
On May 28, 2007, Mr. Tilahun Ayalew went into hiding on hearing that government security agents were coming to arrest him. The agents arrested his wife instead, but released her the following day. Arrested in December 2006, without a warrant, he was transferred to the Addis Ababa Police Commission on December 26, 2006. On December 28, 2006, an Addis Ababa court ordered his release but the police rearrested him and he remained in detention until he was released on March 22, 2007. As a result of the torture he now has difficulty walking.
Messrs. Anteneh Getnet and Meqcha Mengistu also reported that they were tortured during their previous detention, and claimed that they were coerced into signing false confessions that they had links with the EPPF. The court rejected these “confessions”, but did not investigate their allegations of torture.
Please write to the authorities in Ethiopia, urging them to:
Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of Ethiopia in your respective country.
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Geneva - Paris, October 23, 2007
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29
[1] While Messrs. Anteneh Getnet and Meqcha Mengistu were both arrested at their homes on May 30, 2007, Mr. Woldie Dana was arrested at his home on June 4, 2007.
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