“Such a Brutal Crackdown”

facilities. In addition to the harm done to the person, enforced disappearances cause
continued suffering for family members.
Enforced disappearance violates a range of fundamental human rights protected under the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Ethiopia is a party, including
prohibitions against arbitrary arrest and detention; torture and other cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment; and extrajudicial execution.
The mother of a missing 15-year-old student from the Borana zone said:
He went to school in the morning. They had planned to protest. He told me
he wouldn’t but I knew he would. That was the last time I heard from
him. …Others told me he was arrested by federal security. But I went to the
police station, to the local security office and no one had any information
about him. I talked to some boys who were arrested at the protest and had
been taken to the local police station, and they said they had heard he was
taken to a military camp somewhere but they weren’t sure. 78
Parents told Human Rights Watch that it was risky to inquire at local detention facilities
about their children’s whereabouts. A mother trying to find information about her 17-yearold
son, who had been arrested and taken to Torolach military camp, said: “I went to the
camp to find out why they had arrested him and they detained me for one week. Then my
husband came to see us in the camp and they arrested him too.” 79
Torture, Ill-Treatment, and Sexual Assault in Detention
Mistreatment in detention is common and there have been numerous credible reports of
torture, particularly from those who have been detained before. Most of the 46
interviewees who had been detained during the protests said that they were beaten in
detention, sometimes severely. At least six of the beaten detainees were under age 18.
Security forces used wooden sticks, rubber truncheons, or whips to beat people. Several
students said they were hung up by their wrists and whipped. Four students said they were
78 Human Rights Watch interview with #104, location withheld, April 2016.
79 Human Rights Watch interview with #89, location withheld, April 2016.
“SUCH A BRUTAL CRACKDOWN” 36