Le Président
DIFFUSION
D’INFORMATION DU 23 AOÛT 2006
SITUATION DES DROITS
DE L’HOMME EN ETHIOPIE
La
Ligue Djiboutienne des Droits Humains (LDDH) reste très inquiète de la situation
alarmante qui prévaut en Ethiopie, en générale et de la répression intolérable
à l’égard des Défenseurs des Droits de l’Homme, en particulier.
La
Ligue Djiboutienne des Droits de l’Humains (LDDH) demande aux Autorités de
l’Ethiopie :
1. de mettre fin à la répression contre
tous les Objecteurs de conscience, les Défenseurs des Droits de l’Homme, contre
tous nos frères et voisins d’Ethiopie.
2. de relâcher tous les prisonniers
d’opinion, et de mettre fin aux tortures physiques et morales notamment sur les
prisonniers politiques comme le Professeur Mesfin Woldemariam âgé de 76 ans.
M. NOEL ABDI Jean-Paul
Ci-après : Informations
sur le Professeur Mesfin Woldemariam
PUBLIC AI Index: AFR 25/024/2006
23 August 2006
UA
224/06 Medical
concern/ Prisoner of Conscience
ETHIOPIA Professor Mesfin Woldemariam (m), aged 76, founder and former Chair of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council
Prisoner of conscience Professor Mesfin Woldemariam,
aged 76, is receiving treatment in Addis Ababa's Police Hospital after
collapsing in his prison cell on 18 August. He is reportedly suffering with
pneumonia, which is likely to have been caused by the harsh conditions in which
he has been held. Amnesty International is concerned that he may be returned to
Kaliti Prison in Addis Ababa without receiving all the medical treatment that
he needs.
Retired geography professor Mesfin Woldemariam, Ethiopia’s most
prominent human rights defender, has been detained since 1 November 2005, and
is among 76 opposition party leaders, journalists and human rights defenders on
trial on charges of “outrage against the Constitution”, “obstruction of the
exercise of constitutional powers”, “inciting, organizing or leading armed
rebellion” and “attempted genocide,”
in connection to the demonstrations against alleged fraud in the May 2005
elections in Ethiopia (see UA 284/05, AFR 25/017/2005, 02 November 2005, and
follow-ups). He is said
to be "responding well to treatment" for pneumonia in hospital, but
his condition still remains serious and potentially life-threatening.
He has been
in poor health for some time and prior to his arrest had been confined to bed
for two months with back and leg problems, for which he has reportedly received
no medical treatment at Kaliti Prison. He carried out two hunger strikes in
December 2005 and January 2006 in protest at his detention and trial.
In Kaliti prison, Professor Mesfin
Woldemariam has been held in a zinc-walled cell with other prisoners. In the
current rainy season in Ethiopia, the cell is cold and damp. Hygiene, sanitary
and toilet facilities are very poor. There are rats, cockroaches and fleas in
the cell. Prisoners are allowed weekend visits in a large group, and can
receive food, books and other items from their families, but are not allowed
private family visits, writing materials or correspondence. They are provided
with medical treatment as needed, either in prison or in hospital, but there
have sometimes been delays and other deficiencies. Diplomats
and delegates or visitors from abroad are sometimes allowed access, but often
refused.
Amnesty
International believes that the harsh prison conditions and Professor Mesfin
Woldemariam's previous poor health have contributed in large measure to his current
bout of pneumonia. Some other prisoners who have also needed hospital treatment
after being detained in these conditions, including opposition party leader Dr
Berhanu Negga (see UA 195/06, AFR 25/020/2006, 14 July 2006, and follow-ups),
have previously been returned to Kaliti prison before medical tests were
completed and against the advice of doctors, leading to a deterioration in
their health. It is feared that if Professor Mesfin Woldemariam is returned to
Kaliti prison in similar circumstances, his current and pre-existing medical
complaints, combined with his age and the conditions in which he is held, could
have grave consequences for his health.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Professor Mesfin Woldemariam founded the
Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO), a non-governmental organization, in
1991. He was its chair until 2005 when he resigned and joined the election
campaign as an advisor of the Rainbow Party which is part of the Coalition for
Unity and Democracy (CUD), the main opposition party. The government has been
consistently hostile to the EHRCO, which is the only human rights group
(eventually officially registered) investigating, documenting and reporting on
human rights violations through its central and regional offices.
Several
thousand suspected government opponents from the Coalition for Unity and
Democracy (CUD) and other opposition parties were detained following
demonstrations in June and November 2005 in Addis Ababa and other towns. They
were protesting against alleged fraud in the parliamentary elections of 15 May
2005. During the demonstrations, the security forces shot dead at least 86
people and allegedly many more, wounded over 200 others, and seven police were
killed by mobs. A parliamentary inquiry is currently investigating the killings
at the demonstration. CUD leaders who were elected to parliament and the Addis Ababa City
Council refused to take up their positions. In December 2005, they were charged
with instigating the violence. All defendants except three civil society
activists refused to defend themselves, on the grounds that they did not expect
to receive a fair trial. In early August the trial was adjourned until 4
October due to the annual court recess. Until then, defendants will have no
opportunity to bring complaints about their treatment before the court.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to
arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own language:
-
expressing concern that Professor Mesfin Woldemariam has fallen seriously ill
in prison and is now in hospital, reportedly with pneumonia;
-
expressing concern that this is likely to have been caused by the harsh conditions
in which he has been held at Kaliti prison;
- calling
for guarantees that he will receive all necessary medical treatment and tests
in hospital for pneumonia and his other medical complaints, for as long as
doctors at the hospital deem it necessary and until he has fully recovered;
- calling
also for his release on medical grounds, and that he not be returned to the
same harsh prison conditions which led to his recent life-threatening illness;
- renewing calls
for the authorities to release Professor Mesfin Woldemariam unconditionally, as Amnesty International
believes him to be a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for exercising his
right to freedom of opinion;
- calling on the authorities to respect regional and
international standards for the treatment of prisoners, such as the UN Standard
Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
APPEALS TO:
Prime Minister
His Excellency Meles Zenawi, Office of the
Prime Minister, PO Box 1031, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Fax: +
251 11 1552020 / 1552030 (please keep trying)
Salutation: Your
Excellency
Minister of Justice
Mr Assefa Kesito, Ministry of Justice, PO
Box 1370, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Fax: +
251 11 5517775 / 5520874
Email: ministry-justice@telecom.net.et
Salutation: Dear
Minister
COPIES TO:
President
Girma Wolde-Giorgis, Office of the President, PO Box 1031/ PO Box 23698,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Fax: +
251 11 5518656
Minister
of Foreign Affairs
Mr Seyoum Mesfin, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PO Box 393, Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia
Fax: +
251 11 5514300
Email: mfa.addis@telecom.net.et
and to
diplomatic representatives of Ethiopia accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International
Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 4 October 2006.