“Such a Brutal Crackdown”

JUNE 2016 ISBN: 978-1-6231-33665
“Such a Brutal Crackdown”
Killings and Arrests in Response to Ethiopia’s Oromo Protests
Map of Zones in Oromia, Ethiopia ........................................................................................ I
Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... II
Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1
Recommendations .............................................................................................................. 5
To the Government of Ethiopia .................................................................................................. 5
To the Ethiopian Judiciary ......................................................................................................... 7
To the United Nations Human Rights Council ............................................................................ 8
To Ethiopia’s International Partners: ........................................................................................ 8
To the Authorities in Kenya, Sudan, Egypt, Djibouti, Somaliland and Somalia .......................... 10
To Potential Investors ............................................................................................................. 10
Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 11
I. Background ................................................................................................................... 13
Patterns of repression and control in Oromia .......................................................................... 15
Displacement Linked to Economic Development ..................................................................... 18
Government Response to the Protests ..................................................................................... 18
II. Violations by Security Forces ........................................................................................ 21
Summary Killings and Use of Lethal Force During Protests ....................................................... 24
Arbitrary Arrests and Detentions ............................................................................................ 26
Enforced Disappearances ....................................................................................................... 35
Torture, Ill-Treatment, and Sexual Assault in Detention ........................................................... 36
Denial of Medical Treatment, Harassment of Health Workers ................................................... 41
Denial of Access to Education ................................................................................................. 43
Conditions of Release and Restrictions on Movement ............................................................. 44
III. Violence by Protesters ................................................................................................. 46
IV. Restrictions on Access to Information .......................................................................... 50
V. Government Response .................................................................................................. 54