Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ADDISABABA2615
2009-11-04 11:38:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Addis Ababa
Cable title:  

OGADENI TRIBAL CHIEF HELD TWO YEARS WITHOUT

Tags:  PGOV PHUM KDEM PREL ET 
pdf how-to read a cable
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ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 041138Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6713
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEPADJ/CJTF HOA
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUZEFAA/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L ADDIS ABABA 002615 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM PREL ET
SUBJECT: OGADENI TRIBAL CHIEF HELD TWO YEARS WITHOUT
TRIAL,DENIED MEDICAL TREATMENT

REF: ADDIS 1753

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Tulinabo Mushingi for Reasons
C O N F I D E N T I A L ADDIS ABABA 002615

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM PREL ET
SUBJECT: OGADENI TRIBAL CHIEF HELD TWO YEARS WITHOUT
TRIAL,DENIED MEDICAL TREATMENT

REF: ADDIS 1753

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Tulinabo Mushingi for Reasons 1.
4 (b) and (d).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) PolOff recently met with Hassan Ahmed Makhtal
(strictly protect),a former Ogadeni (Somali region) tribal
chief, who claimed that he was imprisoned without trial for
two years and denied medical treatment despite severe health
problems. Hassan was released in June after having spent two
years in Jijiga prison, reportedly without ever appearing in
court or being formally charged. Hassan told PolOff that
while in prison, he suffered severe health problems but
prison officials repeatedly denied him access to medical
care. Hassan's statements corraborate several other recent
accounts of human rights abuses in Ethiopia's prisons. End
Summary.


2. (C) On October 26, PolOff met with a former Ogadeni
(Somali region) tribal chief Hassan Ahmed Makhtal (strictly
protect),who was detained for the past two years in Jijiga
prison and whose health is in critical condition. In April
2007, Hassan was arrested in Degahabur town and transferred
to Jigiga prison a few days later. Hassan reported to PolOff
that police said they arrested him because his grandfather,
Makhtal Dahir, instigated instability in the Ogaden region in
the 1960s. (Note: Makhtal Dahir was the head of the Ogadeni
tribe in the 1950s and 60s, when the Somali region liberation
movement was re-ignited. End Note.) Hassan is the brother of
Canadian citizen Bashir Makhtal, who was recently sentenced
to life in prison after being convicted of being affiliated
with the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). Hassan
said that several of his family members have been targeted by
Ethiopian security for arbitrary imprisonment. Hassan has
not filed a complaint against the prison or the Ethiopian
government for fear of retribution against other family
members.


3. (C) Hassan reported being severely beaten by prison guards
during his first three months in prison, suffering a broken
leg and bruised ribs. Later he came down with a serious
illness (now diagnosed as cancer) and repeatedly sought
medical attention, but the prison administration denied his

requests for 18 months. Hassan believes he was released in
June because his health condition was grave and prison
officials did not want him to die while in prison. When he
was released, he sought medical attention in Jijiga and Dire
Dawa, and was then referred to Addis Ababa. In Addis, he was
admitted for five days to Harar Clinic, eight days to Mazoria
Higher Clinic, and one day to Yared Hospital. Currently
Hassan's health is extremely poor; he is not able to move and
speech is very difficult. He appeared to weigh approximately
100 pounds.


4. (C) Hassan described Jijiga prison as severely
overcrowded, with over 2,400 inmates in a small compound. He
said he slept with 200 other prisoners in a room
approximately 15 feet by 15 feet (prisoners slept on top of
one another). Hassan told PolOff that there were no toilets,
no water available for washing, and only dirty water to
drink. He noted that the sanitary and overcrowding was made
worse by the extremely hot weather in the Somali region.
Hassan reported that prison guards were abusive towards
prisoners, and that many of the inmates had never been
brought to trial.


5. (U) The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC),
technically an independent body but widely perceived as loyal
to the Ethiopian government, recently released a report
documenting inadequate prison conditions - including
overcrowding, unhygienic conditions, insufficient medical
care, food, water, and education opportunities - and human
rights violations occurring within Ethiopian prisons (Ref.
A). Ethiopia's constitution, as well as the international
conventions that Ethiopia has ratified, grants prisoners the
right to a speedy trial, to be presumed innocent, and to be
released on bail. However, the EHRC investigation found that
the overwhelming majority of detainees in Ethiopia's prisons
are being held on pending charges. For example, only ten
percent of prisoners in Gambella prison have been convicted
and 46 percent in Addis Ababa (no statistics are available

for Jijiga Prison).

Comment
--------------


6. (C) Hassan's testimony is consistent with several other
recent accounts - from former inmates and EHRC - of human
rights abuses in Ethiopia's prisons. Though the government
is reportedly addressing some of the overcrowding/sanitary
issues, reports of unlawful detention and violations of human
rights continue. Post will closely monitor whether any
measures are taken to improve prison conditions and to
decrease the occurence of human rights violations by raising
cases with the GoE when appropriate. In this case, Hassan
has asked us not to raise his case with the GoE for fear of
retribution against other family members. End Summary.
MUSHINGI