This summary includes a small but representative fraction of reports of human rights violations received by OSG. The full version Press Release may be obtained, without charge, from OSG. The information comes from reliable informants inside and outside Ethiopia (see Press Release).

Dachassa Jirru Gobanna, lawyer and legal advisor, was shot dead by a police chief in Adama [Nazaret], E. Showa, on 21 January. He was Attorney General for Adama, 1993-5, and for Adama and Bishoftu District in 1996, until sacked along with 85 other Oromo Attorney Generals accused of sympathising with the OLF. He was detained for three months (January – March) and two months (July – August) in 1998, at Adama Central Police Station.

At 1.30 p.m. on 22 January 1999, he was shot five times by Corporal Tolesa Megersa, Chief of Police, Akaki District Police Station, on the porch of a film processing shop, opposite the Ethiopian Light and Power Authority office. Hit in the chest and arm with the first three shots, he cried for assistance, but the killer stood on his feet and shot him twice again, killing him. Corporal Tolesa then went to Adama District Police Station saying he killed Dachassa after being insulted by him.

Dheressa Abashu, a lawyer in Jibat Mecha, Dandi sub-district, near Chilimo, was shot dead by government forces at his compound, in daylight on 1 April.

Among the 65 Oromo members of cultural and human rights organisations, doctors, nurses and journalists facing conspiracy charges in Addis Ababa, 15 more have been transferred from Karchale central prison to underground cells in Maikelawi Special Investigation Centre, according to information received by OSG on 12 May and 2 June.

Kumulaa Wolde-Sambat, a 68 year old man from Qaaranaa Awwaaree Peasant Association, Ambo, W. Showa, died in Karchale on 30 March, just before the transfer. He had bowel complications following torture with metal and wooden objects being forced into his anus. He was denied medical access in Karchale.

Journalist Solomon Namarra, and Human Rights League and Macha-Tulama Association board member, Gabissa Lamessa, were transferred in December 1998. It has not been previously reported that Suutee Baarentoo, a musician from the Bilisummaa Band, has been detained for many months, and in shackles for over five months, in Maikelawi.

Dr. Gizaw Erana Gojjam has been held in solitary confinement from mid-January 1999. All detainees there are kept in a dark room for 24 hours per day and held incommunicado.

Detainees, including prisoners of conscience according to Amnesty International, went on hunger strike in protest at continued use of shackles on prisoners. There is continual postponement of court hearings and Oromo detainees are singled out as the only ones in Karchale who are not allowed to speak in their native language, to each other or to visitors.

The response of government prison authorities to the hunger strike was to transfer 15 of the detainees to Maikelawi, where they were subject to torture. Although access has been denied to relatives, it has been reported that some were taken to a hospital in the capital for treatment for wounds sustained while being tortured. Shiferaw Biru, an elder among the 65, was reported to have been unconscious following torture.

Denial of medical access to detainees could lead to further deaths. Beyene Belissa, an amputee, is having difficulty reaching toilet facilities because his artificial leg has again been confiscated. In April, he was reported to be seriously ill, having spent three days in the prison clinic. Prisoners who act as staff in the clinic have repeatedly requested hospital treatment for him, but requests have been ignored.

OSG has been informed separately on three occasions that publicity about detainees, visits by well-meaning western diplomats and support letters from abroad are followed by an increase in the beatings, harassment and mistreatment of the detainees.

Tawaji Shuna Gojjamo is a 38 year old father of three and former head of maintenance at Adama (Nazaret) hospital in S. Showa. He fled to Kenya in December 1998 following an attempt by government security agents to arrest him. He denies having any role with the OLF, however. His brother and wife were detained following his escape, and his wife is said to be still in detention.

In Kenya he developed a malignant tumour in his neck, reputed to be due to ‘blood cancer’, and decided to go back home for palliative care. He was abducted from the street and detained in Awassa, just over the border in Sidamo province, on 19 May and was reported seen in the police station there the following day. Since then his whereabouts are unknown. In view of his medical condition, his family are anxious that he be traced as soon as possible and given medical care.

Abdi Abrahim Ahmed, 27 yr old father of two, from Kombolcha, E. Hararge, wrote from exile on 16 April. His account of his first arrest is familiar.

‘In July 1992, . . . at midnight my house was raided by TPLF security men. When they came to the house, they knocked but did not wait before breaking the door and coming inside. They mishandled me and pushed me to the ground, and then tied both my hands together behind my back and I was taken to Kombolcha military camp. On the way, I was brutally beaten with a rubber whip and gun butts, kicked and hit with fists and sticks. This was followed by bitter torture.’

He was released on 5,000 Birr bond after 5 months and eventually began life again, as a driver for his uncle. After local OLF activity in January 1995, he was taken during a wave of arrests around Kombolcha. He was kept in a tiny cell in Kombolcha police station. He was made to ‘bear a heavy stone on my head and beaten with plastic rope and electric wire’.

‘I was taken to a nearby hill . . . many of my friends were shot dead in front of my own eyes’. This has commonly been reported from detainees in Kombolcha. He was released, sick from torture, after signing ‘on my life to be killed if I was found moving from my home area and not to involve myself with OLF activities’.

Again after local fighting with the OLF, government security men took him from his home at midnight, 5 August 1998, and took him to the military camp. While there, he underwent immersion in cold water, ‘they tied a scissor like material on my private parts’, and had all property confiscated. He escaped with others during an OLF attack on the camp.

As well as the incontinence often reported after genital torture, he is now partially paralysed and mentally and physically ill.

Two Oromo were detained before a meeting between Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, and Ismael Omar Guelleh, the new President of Djibouti, at Guelleh’s inauguration ceremony on 10 April. They were released, but re-arrested along with at least 19 others in the next day or two. Twenty one remained in detention by 27 May, according to a press release from the Oromo Relief Association (ORA), London. Those without UNHCR protection (at least 19) are believed by the Oromo community in Djibouti to be in danger of refoulement. According to a recent ORA newsletter, over 25,000 Oromo live in Djibouti town. Very few are under official UNHCR protection.

The current detainees are believed to be held in the 3^rd Police Commissariat.

On 28 May, OSG received news from Djibouti that Oromo are being ‘hunted’ by Djibouti security forces and that at least two detainees are being tortured because of refusing to give information about those who are being sought. Ibrahim Mohammed Osman and Ali Mussa were reported from Djibouti to be in a ‘weak condition’ following beating and torture. UNHCR has acknowledged the detention only of Ibrahim Mohammed Osman, who has mandate refugee status. They reported his transfer to custody in UNHCR’s Nagad camp 9 June.

Fifteen Djibouti citizens were arrested after youngsters went on a violent rampage beginning 22 May, beating Oromo and other refugees. One source claims that an Oromo was killed and 20 wounded at Aron, 15 wounded at Gadade and 7 at Ambuli. The killing has not been confirmed by other sources, but there are corroborative reports of many serious injuries. An appeal by the new Minister of the Interior was broadcast on 31 May, since when the violence has reduced.

One year ago, there were 20,000 Oromo refugees in Nairobi and in UNHCR’s Kakuma camp, about 1000 km. to the north. Since the Ethio-Eritrean war flared up in February, up to 150 youngsters have been arriving in Nairobi every day, avoiding forced conscription. Many others continue to arrive, having escaped or been released from detention and torture.

Life is harsh in Kakuma, especially for the many who report suffering from the psychological and physical effects of torture. OSG has received over sixteen separate reports from Oromo refugees, stating that Ethiopian government agents, operating under the co-ordination of the embassy in Nairobi, are encouraging other refugees in Kakuma against Oromo refugees there.

Many Oromo in Kakuma have been ‘injured and found in hospital’. In 1998, the Oromo Community committee were fired upon and their property confiscated by Ethiopian government agents, according to reports from Kakuma. One refugee reports being detained by Kenyan police at Kakuma for 48 hrs following the incident. In April this year, Oromo community members were attacked at night. One, Mohammed Aman Abdurahman, lost teeth in the assault. There have been several attempts to kill individuals, often by setting fire to their huts. Many have gone into hiding, usually in Nairobi, where they are hardly more secure.

Tigrean agents from the embassy, or Kenyans or ex-Dergue functionaries hired by them, have abducted and beaten Oromo in Nairobi. A student received written threats before separate attempts were made to abduct him by car and to kill him. An attempt on the life of another refugee occurred on 30 March and he spent one week in hospital, according to his letter. Another refugee, a father of six, was wounded by knife and gunshot on 10 April, and had to be hospitalised. One man reported (26 April) three attempts on his life in Nairobi, on 6 December 1998, and 12 and 14 January 1999. Another wrote, ‘I constantly change my residence for fear of TPLF security men who are hunting me day and night to either kill or hijack me’. Names have been withheld by OSG, to protect victims and their relatives in Oromia.

Three Boran Oromo, Hussein Tuula, Biru Dida and Bonaya Diimaa, from the Ethiopian side of the border town of Moyale, were arrested on the Kenyan side of the town ten months ago. They were detained in Nyeri prison, north of Nairobi, after briefly being held in Isiolo. They are due to be released imminently. They expect to be forcibly repatriated to Ethiopia unless UNHCR can insist on protecting them.

Oromo refugees in Kenya wrote protest letters to UNHCR in March, complaining about the appointment of a Tigrean, Tsehaye Jakob, as a community social service worker in Nairobi. They believe he is a TPLF, Ethiopian government, agent who will use his position to read confidential files of Oromo refugees and lead the embassy to them. See Urgent Action.

Denmark

Two young men, who were detained in Ethiopia for being political cadres for the OLF, when part of the transitional government, sought asylum in Denmark in 1998. [Names withheld by OSG.] They have lost colleagues, relatives and friends and have good reason to fear returning to Ethiopia. The Danish authorities denied them asylum. One was ordered to leave the country on 4 March, the other on 3 May. Both have been told that the Danish police will forcibly repatriate them to Ethiopia. See Urgent Action.

Adagne GebreMariam Agena, from Gamogofa, Southern Peoples Region, was detained at Heathrow airport on 2 March, when he applied for asylum. A ‘Refugee Arrival Project’ solicitor saw him briefly, but he had no chance to tell his full story. He was transferred to Haslar prison on 17 March and deported to Germany (where he studied until going back to Ethiopia in 1998) within a few days. Friends tried desperately to contact him and his legal ‘support’, but there was no response to messages left. It is not known what his fate was in Germany.