The Ethiopian government must end its use of repressive
tactics against demonstrators, following initial reports of widespread
arrests of Muslim protestors during this morning’s Eid al-Fitr
celebrations, said Amnesty International today.
“We are extremely
concerned at reports coming out of Ethiopia this morning of further
widespread arrests of Muslim protesters. The Ethiopian government’s
ongoing repressive crackdown on freedom of speech and the right to
peacefully protest has to end now,” said Claire Beston, Amnesty
International’s Ethiopia researcher.
Last week, another incident
related to the protests reportedly ended in the deaths of an unconfirmed
number of people in the town of Kofele in Oromia region.
During
the 18 month-long protest movement against alleged government
interference in Islamic affairs, the vast majority of demonstrations
have been peaceful. However, there have been at least four incidents
involving serious allegations of the excessive use of force by security
forces against demonstrators in the long-running movement. While a few
isolated incidents of violence involving protestors have occurred, these
have taken place during episodes where excessive police force is
alleged.
“These reports of further deaths in the context of the
Muslim protest movement are deeply worrying. There must be an immediate,
independent and impartial investigation into the events in Kofele, as
well as into the four incidents last year which resulted in the deaths
and injuries of protestors,” said Claire Beston.
“With further
protests planned, it is imperative that the behaviour of the security
forces is scrutinised and if enough admissible evidence of crimes is
found, suspected perpetrators should be prosecuted in trial proceedings
that meet international standards.”
Accounts of last week’s incident in Kofele from the protestors and the government differ widely.
Protestors
report that the security forces opened fire on unarmed people who were
protesting against the arrests of members of the local Muslim community.
One resident of Kofele told Amnesty International that 14 people were
shot dead by the army, including at least three children. Another said
that 11 people had been killed.
According to media reports, the
authorities have said that the protestors were armed, leading to an
outbreak of violence which resulted in the deaths of three protestors
and injuries to a number of police officers. Government representatives
refused to respond to Amnesty International’s queries about the
incident.
There are also reports of large numbers of arrests in
and around Kofele, Oromia, and further arrests in Addis Ababa over the
last week.
Those arrested included two journalists - Darsema Sori and Khalid Mohamed - detained early last week in Addis Ababa.
The
two men were working for Radio Bilal, which has regularly reported on
the protest movement. Darsema Sori had also previously worked for the
publication Ye’Muslimoch Guday (Muslim Affairs), from which two
employees have already been arrested during the protest movement, and
who are currently being prosecuted under the Anti-Terrorism
Proclamation.
According to information received by Amnesty
International Darema Sori and Khalid Mohamed are being held at Sostegna
(third) police station in Addis Ababa and are not being permitted
visitors. They have reportedly been taken to court and were remanded in
custody while the police continue their investigation.
Reports of
arrests and detentions of peaceful protestors and people suspected of
involvement in organising the protests have continued throughout
18-months of demonstrations.
Despite many months of large-scale,
peaceful protests, the government has repeatedly attempted to paint the
protest movement as violent and terrorist-related in statements to the
media and in parliament. Amnesty International has received a number of
reports of messages aired via the state media over the last week,
warning that the authorities would take firm action against anyone who
attempted to take part in further demonstrations.
“This is a
violation of people’s right to peacefully protest, as protected in
Ethiopia’s Constitution,” said Claire Beston. “The government continues
to respond to the grievances of the Muslim community with violence,
arbitrary arrests and the use of the overly-broad Anti-Terrorism
Proclamation to prosecute the movements’ leaders and other individuals.”
As
demonstrations continue, Amnesty International is concerned that the
response of the authorities will also continue to involve human rights
violations, including arbitrary arrests of peaceful protestors and
possible further bloodshed.
The organization urges the Ethiopian
government to respect the right of its citizens to peacefully protest
and urges an immediate end to heavy-handed tactics in response to the
protests. Anyone arrested solely for exercising their right to peaceful
protest must be released immediately.
Background
The
trial continues of 29 figures related to the protest movement including
nine members of a committee of representatives selected by the Muslim
community to represent their grievances to the government, and one
journalist, Yusuf Getachew, of the publication Ye’Muslimoch Guday. The
trial has already been marred by a number of fair trial concerns,
including the airing on state-run Ethiopian Television (ETV) of a
programme called “Jihadawi Harakat.” It painted the Muslim protest
movement and some of the individuals on trial as having connections with
Islamic extremist groups, seriously jeopardising the right of the
defendants to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The trial
is now taking place in closed proceedings, increasing fears that the
defendants will not receive a fair trial. Amnesty International believes
that the individuals on trial are being prosecuted because of their
participation in a peaceful protest movement.
Solomon Kebede,
another journalist working for Ye’Muslimoch Guday was recently charged
under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation along with 27 other people,
according to information received by Amnesty International.
During
2012 there were at least four incidents in which the security forces
were alleged to have used excessive force during the dispersal and
arrest of protestors. At least two of these incidents - in the towns of
Gerba in the Amhara region, and Asasa in the Oromia region - resulted in
the deaths of protestors.
Two further incidents in Addis Ababa
reportedly resulted in many injuries to protestors. Amnesty
International called for independent investigations to be conducted into
these incidents, but according to available information, no such
investigation has taken place.
Other protests have also been
affected by the government’s pervasive intolerance of dissent. The
opposition Unity for Democracy and Justice Party has reported arrests of
its members in a number of locations around the country in recent
weeks. They were engaged in organising demonstrations, handing out
leaflets for demonstrations and calling on people to sign a petition
calling for the revocation of the Anti-Terrorism Legislation and the
release of political prisoners.
Protests in Ethiopia have increased in recent months.