‘Ethiopia’: State Specialized in Extrajudicial Killings, Rape, Child Molestation and Torture

In an earlier article (Ogaden Human Rights Committee Appeals to the United Nations Against Terrorist State ‘Ethiopia’ -
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/66548), I republished the introductory parts of a Press Release and Appeal to the International Community, issued by the Ogaden Human Rights Committee (OHRC), in which the leading Ogadeni Human Rights NGO urges the UN and the donor countries to take action against the Terrorist State of Abyssinia (fallaciously re-baptized ‘Ethiopia’) the immediately. More specifically, I reproduced the ‘Recommendations and Appeals’, the ‘Background’, and excerpts from ‘the Human Rights Situation’.

In their momentous Appeal, OHRC places the international body and governments of several major countries in front of their historical responsibility to put an end to a most appalling – and extensively documented and reconfirmed – genocide.

In the present article, I republish the rest of the section ‘the Human Rights Situation’ in which are enumerated and briefly discussed appalling violations of Human Rights that occurred recently in Ogaden, involving extrajudicial killings, rape and child molestation, forced disappearances, arbitrary detentions and torture. In forthcoming articles, I will complete the publication of the OHRC Appeal.

Ogaden : the Dire Human Rights and Humanitarian Situation and the Role of the United Nations
http://www.ogadenrights.org/the_dire.htm

The Human Rights Situation

To illustrate the abovementioned assertions, the following are some examples with victims’ accounts and testimonies:

Extrajudicial killings

In the Ogaden Ethiopian security and armed forces have been given a carte blanche and blanket impunity to kill whoever they want under the pretext of suspected support and sympathy for the ONLF. The Ogaden Human Rights Committee has documented so far; 2725 extrajudicial killings.

In retaliation to Ogaden National Liberation Front's attack on a Chinese oil exploration field, in Cobolle, on 24th April 2007.The Ethiopian government forces launched a ruthless military campaign which resulted in displacing thousands of civilians, razing to the ground entire towns, villages, hamlets and nomadic settlements as well as killing many fleeing civilians and their animals.

On 26th July 2007, in Qoriile, an Ethiopian soldier has beaten up Hanad Moallin Abdullah[1], a four-year-old boy in front of his mother Fadumo Abdi. Then he laid him on the ground and stamped on his abdomen for a long period. Hanad passed away shortly.

In Qoriile, on July 22nd 2007, Ethiopian armed forces came with a list of names, and then arrested a number of civilians. They transferred them to their barracks, where they were subjected to extensive torture. On July 24th 2007, the Ethiopian armed forces carried out a cold-blood massacre killing the detainees in their custody, in Babaase. Most of the victims were hanged from acacia trees and then shot to ascertain their death. The names of the dead are: Hassan Abdi Abdullahi, Ilmoge Badal Abdi Abdullahi, Hassan Burale Ilmi-Yare, Ali Burale Ilmi-Yare, Ahmed-Gani Guled Ali, Farah Hassan Halonfi, Mrs. Ayan Aw Ali God, Hussien Gahnug and Abdirashid Sheikh Mohamoud. Ridwan Hassan Rage survived but in a critical condition. Qarjaf Haji Osman and Ina Arab Ismail[2] are missing.

The bodies of the victims were forbidden to be buried and were displayed in public to spread terror among the civilian population.

An elder from Qoriile who preferred not to be identified said, "Is the Ethiopian government going to win our minds and hearts by mass killing, carpet bombing and destroying our livelihood? The longer Ethiopia denied rights to the Ogaden people the more likely they were to join a growing liberation movement for independence from Ethiopia and its inhuman rulers."

Ridwan Hassan Sahid,[3] 17 years old girl, who survived the Qoriile massacre, told an OHRC researcher, "Ethiopian government soldiers came with a list of names, and then took a number of villagers. They beat us indiscriminately, torched our hunts and then hanged some of us from acacia trees, while others were choked with metal rods and rope one by one. When it was my turn two soldiers grabbed me and tied a rope around my neck. They pulled in different directions until I collapsed. They left me for dead but thanks god I am still alive."

Rape and Child Molestation

Women and children are the most vulnerable groups to suffer abuse and violence in the Ogaden. The Ethiopian government uses rape as a weapon and its soldiers are under orders to abduct, torture, rape, and kill any woman who is related ONLF member or suspected of sympathising with the ONLF. The strategy of abduct, torture, rape and kill (ATRK) is applicable also to the members of Ogaden Women’s Democratic Association (OWDA). Number of HIV/AIDS virus infected women and young girls after being raped by members of the Ethiopian armed forces is increasing as well as the number of pregnant women as a result of these rapes. The number of documented rape victims is 2256.

In Garigo’an, on June 16th 2006, members of Ethiopian armed forces detained Mrs. Adar Mohamoud Adan[4], a nomad woman aged 70. They took her to military barracks where she has been tortured and gang-raped. After three days her body was thrown outside military barracks. She was buried by the town folk. A community elder who do not want to be named said, "She came to visit her relatives in the area. She was not familiar with the region. Ethiopian soldiers rape our women at will. We have to defend our honour and pride by all means. We have no other option. There is no law and no government to protect us. They are not soldiers they are monsters."

A number of women are being held in the Ethiopian military barracks throughout the Ogaden as comfort women (sex slaves) against their will. Many cases of forced marriages have been reported as well.

In regard to child abuse, many children were molested by paedophiles from the Ethiopian armed and security forces. When the parents and relatives of the sexually assaulted children protested they were detained and beaten cruelly in public.

Forced disappearances

A large number of people have disappeared after being abducted or detained by members of Ethiopian armed and security forces, while others disappeared from notorious military detention camps, or were transferred to secret detention centres in Harar, Addis Ababa, Zuway or Mekelle. The fate and whereabouts of those people remain unknown to their relatives. In many cases they are presumed dead. The OHRC has documented 3241 cases of forced disappearances.

Arbitrary detentions and torture

Besides political imprisonments Ethiopian armed and security forces periodically round up as many people as possible for ransom and when the extortion money is paid, the detainees are released. In the Ogaden, there is neither arrest nor interrogation without torture. Ethiopian armed and security forces systematically torture suspected ONLF members to extract information or confessions. A number of people were tortured to death. The OHRC’s researchers have examined a large number of torture survivors; some of them were disabled, while others bore scars of torture on their bodies.

Ethiopia ratified all important international human rights treaties protecting individuals from arbitrary arrest, including the ICCPR, Article 9 of which provides that:

1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.

2. Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him.

3. Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time or, to release. It shall not be the general rule that the persons awaiting trial shall be detained in custody, but release may be subject to guarantees to appear for trial, at any other stage of the judicial proceedings, and, should occasion arise, for execution of the judgement.

4. Anyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take proceedings before a court, in order that that court may decide without delay on the lawfulness of his detention and order his release if the detention is not lawful.

5. Anyone who has been the victim of unlawful arrest or detention shall have an enforceable right to compensation.

However, the Ethiopian authorities held thousands of Somali Ogadenis in overcrowded and filthy military detention camps. The detainees are civilians, including women, elderly people and minors, accused of membership or sympathising with the ONLF. They are detained for years or many months without charges or trial.

The UN Standard Minimum Rules for treatment of prisoners requires that prisoners are given prompt access to their families, lawyers and to their own doctor, but the Ethiopian law ignores these rights completely.

According to released detainees’ testimonies, detainees are maltreated, tortured and beaten routinely in all these camps during interrogations to extract confessions and information about the ONLF. Many young detainees in their teens were forcibly conscripted and transferred to Ethio Eritrean front lines and others were forced to fight the ONLF.

On May 12th 2008, Suldan Fowsi Mohamed Ali[5], a prominent community elder and a peace activist was sentenced to 22 years in prison by an Ethiopian regional court in Jigjiga. On the same date Haji Ibrahim Had, a well-known businessman and financier of an anti- ONLF clan based militia was also sentenced to 16 years in prison by the same court. The two detainees will be transferred to Zuway prison, in Amhara region.

On May 20th 2008, in Jigjiga, an Ethiopian court sentenced to death Arab So’ane, Khadar Shukri, Hassan Ahmed Ali, Mukhtar Mohamed, Mohamed Yusuf, Mahad Sheikh Ibrahim, Hassan Madobe and Kamal Abdinassir. They were accused of being members of ONLF and carrying out an attack last year which left six people dead. They rejected the charges against them and pleaded not guilty.

According to their families and relatives they were innocent civilians who were detained for their believes and tribal backgrounds, and the verdict of the court was illegal, injustice and politically motivated one. They were not informed the particulars of the charges and reasons for their arrest, have not had access to any evidence presented against them, and were not represented by a proper legal counsel.

Hence, they did not receive fair trial in accordance with recognized international standards. On the basis of available information about their cases, the OHRC believes that there was not credible evidence of their involvement in any illegal activity, and their trial was a travesty of justice, and considers them prisoners of conscience.

Article 2 of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment states that: "Each State party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture. An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture."

Common article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 prohibits torture during internal armed conflict. States are also required to bring those responsible for torture to justice and to give redress and compensation to those who have been tortured.

Article 18(1) of the Ethiopian Constitution states that: "No person shall be subject to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

The following testimonies were collected from victims of torture, who gave their testimonies on condition of anonymity. The real names of the victims have been withheld in order to protect them and their families from reprisals.

Warfa[6], Pastoralist, "2003, I was arrested by members of Ethiopian armed forces. They took me to a military barracks in Qabridaharre. They accused me of sympathising with the ONLF. I was in detention for 10 months without trial."

"During my detention, I was tortured severely by military interrogators. My hands and legs were tied tightly with a rope and was beaten indiscriminately, as a consequence of which I have sustained severe damages and injuries. You can see scars of torture on all my body."

Wa’ays[7], Trader, "I was arrested in July 2004 and detained at Jigjiga Police Station, and then was transferred to Garabcase military barracks. They arrested me because they accused me of being a supporter for what they called anti peace elements. I was held incommunicado for three months. I told them that I have nothing to do with the anti peace elements and I am not guilty of any crime whatsoever."

"I was subjected to extensive torture in the form of indiscriminate beatings with heavy sticks, iron bars, and threats of shooting me to death. They told me that I would not be released until I confessed or gave the information they wanted."

"My health deteriorated and I was suffering from external and internal injuries. No medical treatment was given to me. You can see scars covering all my body. I was released after six months of detention without trial. As you know there is no release without paying extortion money. I was released on bail and had to report to police every week. I am not still a free man."

Notes

1. See "Ogaden: Ethiopian Government Forces: Massacre, Displace and Starve Out the Civilian Population with Impunity," Ogaden Human Rights Committee Report 2007, OHRC/AR/07, August 08, 2007

2. ibid

3. ibid

4. See "Ogaden: Ethiopian Government Forces: Massacre, Displace and Starve Out the Civilian Population with Impunity," Ogaden Human Rights Committee Report 2007, OHRC/AR/07, August 08, 2007

5. See "Ogaden: Ethiopian court’s sentences are mockery of justice," Ogaden Human Rights Committee press release, OHCR/PRM/0208, May 14, 2008

6. See "Ogaden: Ethiopian Government Forces: Massacre, Displace and Starve Out the Civilian Population with Impunity," Ogaden Human Rights Committee Report 2007, OHRC/AR/07, August 08, 2007

7. See "Ogaden: Ethiopian Government Forces: Massacre, Displace and Starve Out the Civilian Population with Impunity," Ogaden Human Rights Committee Report 2007, OHRC/AR/07, August 08, 2007

Note
Picture: The OHRC Appeal was released at a Press Conference organized by the OHRC at the Swiss Press Club in Geneva on Thursday, 26 June 2008. Fowsia Abdulkadir and Abdulkader Sulub Abdi of the OHRC.

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