INSIDE ETHIOPIA'S JAILS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ADDIS ABABA 000737

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/05/2019
TAGS: PHUM KJUS PGOV KDEM PREL ET
SUBJECT: INSIDE ETHIOPIA'S JAILS

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Classified By: Ambassador Donald Yamamoto. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

Summary
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1. (C) Recent interviews with individuals who have been held
in non-traditional detention facilities have shed anecdotal
light on beatings and abuse by Ethiopian security officials
against civilians in country. While we cannot confirm the
scope or persistence of such mistreatment, these first-hand
reports do offer a unique insight into abuse of detainees and
dynamics regarding Ethiopia's non-traditional detention
facilities. A handful of released political and other
prisoners in Ethiopia have recently reported to PolOff that
they and other detainees have been tortured in police
station jails in attempts by security officials to elicit
confessions before cases go to trial. Depending on the
detainee, abuses reported include being blindfolded and hung
by the wrists for several hours, bound by chains and beaten,
held in solitary confinement for several days to weeks or
months, subjected to mental torture such as harassment and
humiliation, forced to stand for over 16 hours, and having
heavy objects hung from one's genitalia (males). Based on
what our sources have reported, torture seems to be more
common at police station detention centers (most notably
Ma-ekelawi police station in Addis Ababa),while less is
reported at Kaliti prison. Released prisoners have also
reported to PolOff cases of prisoners being detained for
several years without being charged and without trial,
prisoners held in jails despite having been released by the
courts, and police interference with court proceedings. End
Summary.


Eliciting Confessions from Political Prisoners
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2. (C) Two political prisoners who were arrested for
"inciting violence" following the 2005 elections described to
PolOff various forms of torture to which they were subjected
during the three months spent at Addis Ababa Police
Commission's Criminal Investigation Division, located on the
same compound as the federal police. In an effort to elicit
confessions, police beat them, tied their hands and legs with
chains, and tied a water bottle to the male prisoner's
genitals. They were given one meal every two days, and were
not allowed to shower or change clothes. The same sources
told PolOff that three prisoners with whom they were detained
(Tsegaye Ayele Yigzaw, Gedlu Ayele Hulu-Ante, and Argata
Gobena Maru) died in jail as a result of the beatings, poor
conditions and absence of medical treatment, and one
pregnant woman (Webit Lengamo) miscarried after being
severely beaten. They reported that many fellow prisoners
(with whom they are still in contact) left prison with
permanent injuries to the ears, heads, hands, legs, and/or
genitals.


3. (C) The two prisoners referenced above have said they
expect to be convicted at their next trial date on April 8.
The prisoners said that police officers have testified that
they had admitted guilt and that the police presented forged
confessions to the judge. The prisoners deny having signed
the confessions or admitting guilt. Under Article 27 of the
Penal Code, a confession is sufficient for conviction (no
evidence is needed). While out on bail, one defendant ran
into a judge from the case and the judge told her, "we know
what you did. We're just going through the procedures before
we lock you up. You should contact Pastor Dan and start
working on a pardon." (NOTE: Pastor Daniel Gebreselassie of
Prison Fellowship is one of the "Ethiopian Elders" who helped
to broker the pardon of political prisoners who had been
jailed in the aftermath of the 2005 national elections. END
NOTE.)


4. (C) One opposition official recently released on bail told
PolOff that he spent one month and 18 days in Ma-ekelawi in a
small, dark, 4x4 meter room with 12 other prisoners. He
reported that medical treatment was not available, and
prisoners were not allowed any visitors. He also said that
the younger prisoners were beaten most severely, and then
denied medical treatment. After the beatings the younger
prisoners returned to the same cell where our source was
being held. He reported that older prisoners (including him)

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were subjected to mental torture and certain kinds of
physical torture, such as being forced to stand for several
hours. The opposition official also said he was forced to
stand for over 16 hours and when he collapsed, he was taken
to a solitary confinement cell where he was held for eight
days. According to him, a fellow prisoner claimed that he
was forced to stand for 36 hours.


5. (C) According to a British national recently released from
Ma-ekelawi, the jail is divided into two sections, the "open"
side and the "underground" side. In the "open" side, there
are 12 cells, six on each side of an open courtyard about two
meters wide. There are eight toilets and two showers, for an
average of 100 prisoners at a time. In the "underground"
side, there are two types of solitary confinement cells. One
type of cell is reportedly not physically uncomfortable,
while the other type of cell is extremely small and prisoners
are forced to stand.


Held Without Trial
--------------


6. (C) The opposition official mentioned above also reported
that some prisoners told him that they have been detained for
several years without being charged and without trial. For
example, he spoke with four people who were arrested in
Hargeisa, Somaliland two years ago and accused of being
members of the Oromo Liberation Front, a banned insurgent
movement. They have been held for two years without trial,
and their families do not know of their whereabouts. Also,
he spoke with one of four people who were arrested 14 years
ago following the assassination attempt against Egyptian
President Mubarak and held incommunicado without trial. Of
the four, two have already died in prison and the two others
are in very bad condition. A British national who recently
spent almost one month in Ma-ekelawi jail reported to PolOff
that several foreign prisoners (from Nigeria, Somalia,
Cameroon, Bangladesh, Chad, Eritrea, Belgium, Egypt, Liberia,
and the Congo) charged with overstaying their visas continue
to be held at Ma-ekelawi after having been released by the
courts. While both were still in jail, a Bangladeshi man
told the British national that he had been released by the
courts but continued to be held at Ma-ekelawi for three
additional months. Also, several prisoners told the British
national anectdotal stories of other prisoners' family
members being forced to pay bribes to police to get prisoners
released from Ma-ekelawi. One person told our source that
her brother was in jail and had to stay there until they
could figure out to whom they should pay the bribe. In
another case a foreigner told our source that he was asked
for a USD 50 bribe from the investigator in order to speed up
the process.


Police Interference with Court Proceedings
--------------


7. (C) The British national reported that police from
Ma-ekelawi deliberately tried to interfere with his court
proceedings. After having been granted bail by the high
court in the late afternoon one Tuesday, he was taken to the
high court again on Wednesday morning, though he did not have
an appointment. The police walked him around the court for
two hours and then they returned to the jail. The British
national feels that he was removed from the jail because his
lawyer planned to come that morning with the paperwork to get
him out on bail. Later that afternoon, he was taken against
his will to the high court again, this time for a first
hearing in his trial, which would make the bail he was
granted the day before invalid. His lawyer was not informed
of the trial and was not present. The British national feels
the police deliberately dodged the lawyer.


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


8. (C) There have long been "reports" about the Ethiopian
Government's propensity to detain individuals
extra-constitutionally and extra-judicially, and the tendency
of law enforcement and security forces to delay and interfere
in judicial proceedings and harass detainees. Unfortunately,

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it is difficult to obtain corroborating information about the
type of and extent of these practices, especially related to
the allegations of torture. Individuals who may be subject
to torture are most likely to be held indefinitely and
incommunicado, and we have had minimal access to them to hear
their stories. Our recent access to several former
detainees, however, provides our most nuanced and in-depth
insight into what has happened to at least some individuals.
These reports underscore the continuing need to press the
Ethiopian Government (GOE) to grant the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access to all detention
facilities in country and to maintain a dialogue with the GOE
on human rights. To the extent possible, we will continue to
gather reports from individuals who have spent time in
Ethiopian prisons and detention facilities. End Comment.
YAMAMOTO