“Such a Brutal Crackdown”

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350 Fifth Avenue, 34 th Floor New York, NY 10118-3299 Tel: +1-212-290-4700 Fax: +1-212-736-1300; 917-591-3452 Africa Division Daniel Bekele, Executive Director Leslie Lefkow, Deputy Director Anneke Van Woudenberg, Deputy Director Corinne Dufka, West Africa Director Abdullahi Abdi, Associate Laetitia Bader, Researcher Joyce Bukuru, Senior Associate Maria Burnett, Senior Researcher Lane Hartill, Researcher Jehanne Henry, Senior Researcher Felix Horne, Researcher Zenaida Machado, Researcher Dewa Mavhinga, Senior Researcher Lewis Mudge, Researcher Timo Mueller, Researcher Otsieno Namwaya, Researcher Ida Sawyer, Senior Researcher Lauren Seibert, Associate Mausi Segun, Researcher Jean-Sebastien Sépulchre, Associate Carina Tertsakian, Senior Researcher Thijs Van Laer, Assistant Researcher Jim Wormington, Researcher Advisory Committee Samuel Murumba, Co-chair Ambassador Robin Sanders, Co-chair Fareda Banda Innocent Chukwuma Jonathan Fanton Wendy Keys Muna Ndulo Randy Newcomb Peter Rosenblum John Ryle Kim Samuel Johnson Nick Shaxson Darian Swig Joanna Weschler Michela Wrong Human Rights Watch Kenneth Roth, Executive Director Michele Alexander, Deputy Executive Director, Development and Global Initiatives Iain Levine, Deputy Executive Director, Program Chuck Lustig, Deputy Executive Director, Operations Bruno Stagno Ugarte, Deputy Executive Director, Advocacy Dinah PoKempner, General Counsel James Ross Legal & Policy Director Hassan Elmasry, Co-Chair Joel Motley, Co-Chair Annex 2: Letter to the Ethiopian Government May 24, 2016 Minister Kassa Tekleberhan Ministry of Federal Affairs P.O. Box 5718 Addis Ababa Ethiopia Via email: Dear Minister Kassa, I am writing on behalf of Human Rights Watch to request the government’s response and perspective regarding serious human rights concerns related to the protests in Oromia since November 2015. Human Rights Watch has been investigating the events around the protests over the past six months. Our findings are based on more than 125 interviews with witnesses and victims of alleged abuses, government officials and individuals implicated in abuses from over 70 different protest locations. We are preparing a report on our findings that would greatly benefit from your perspective on the situation, which would help ensure that we can present a full and thorough assessment of the situation. Our findings thus far raise serious concerns about the use of unnecessary and excessive force and other abuses by the state security forces. We estimate that to date at least 400 people have been killed, thousands have been injured, and tens of thousands arrested. Scores more individuals appear to be victims of enforced disappearances. 75 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | JUNE 2016 AMSTERDAM · BEIRUT · BERLIN · BRUSSELS · CHICAGO · GENEVA · JOHANNESBURG · LONDON · LOS ANGELES · MOSCOW · NAIROBI · NEW YORK · PARIS · SAN FRANCISCO · SÃO PAULO · SYDNEY · TOKYO · TORONTO · WASHINGTON · ZÜRICH
Protesters and bystanders on different dates, in scores of different locations across all zones of Oromia state have described members of the security forces shooting live ammunition into crowds of people, summarily killing people being taken into custody, and carrying out mass arrests. Many former detainees have described being tortured and otherwise ill-treated in detention, often in military barracks. At least hundreds and possible thousands of people remain in detention without charge, without access to legal counsel, medical treatment, or family members, and without being brought before a court in a timely manner. The detention of individuals in military camps, including Urso and Ganale military camps – which renders them more vulnerable to serious abuses – is a particularly worrying and urgent concern. Our research to date also indicates that the security forces, including members of the federal police and military, have arbitrarily arrested and detained students, teachers, musicians, opposition politicians, health workers, and people who provide assistance or shelter to fleeing students. While Human Rights Watch documented some acts of violence – largely destruction of property – by protesters or unidentified people in the vicinity, our findings so far indicate that the protests have been largely peaceful. As mentioned below, we would be very grateful for any information you can provide regarding deaths of security force members or attacks against them. Human Rights Watch is committed to producing material that is well-informed and objective. We would appreciate you or your staff answering the following questions so that your views are accurately reflected in our reporting. We would appreciate receiving your response to this letter by June 13, 2016, to ensure that it can be reflected in our final report. Responses should be emailed to.., or sent by facsimile to fax number: in Nairobi, Kenya. We would also greatly appreciate the opportunity to meet with you to discuss these questions and the findings of our report. Please let us know if and where we could meet to discuss these important concerns. Thank you for your consideration of this letter and we look forward to your response to our inquiries. “SUCH A BRUTAL CRACKDOWN” 76
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H U M A N R I G H T S W A T C H “
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Copyright © 2016 Human Rights Watc
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VI. International Response ........
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Abbreviations EHRP Ethiopia Human R
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over the past decade. Such developm
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compensation. These steps are essen
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Enforced Disappearances • Promptl
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• Ensure that complaints of tortu
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To the Authorities in Kenya, Sudan,
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Human Rights Watch conducted some r
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udgets, Oromo education, and Afan O
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environment provides little opportu
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Displacement Linked to Economic Dev
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skeptical given general distrust, a
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were marching to the center of town
Page 31 and 32: Summary Killings and Use of Lethal
Page 33 and 34: Security forces also killed student
Page 35 and 36: near Ambo town; Ganale, near Dodola
Page 37 and 38: themselves in to authorities. Human
Page 39 and 40: Gudina was detained for three weeks
Page 41 and 42: Martu.” 71 The whereabouts of tho
Page 43 and 44: facilities. In addition to the harm
Page 45 and 46: mobilizing students. 84 Detainees w
Page 47 and 48: A 22-year-old woman named Mona told
Page 49 and 50: There were three students injured,
Page 51 and 52: locations to deter protests. In som
Page 53 and 54: III. Violence by Protesters The Eth
Page 55 and 56: Ethiopian law requires permits for
Page 57 and 58: IV. Restrictions on Access to Infor
Page 59 and 60: months of the protests. But in some
Page 61 and 62: V. Government Response Ethiopia’s
Page 63 and 64: in a corrupt way, working with some
Page 65 and 66: VI. International Response Public c
Page 67 and 68: to the protests, and called for the
Page 69 and 70: Annex 1: Documented Killings Severa
Page 71 and 72: 26. Abdata Bayisa 10-Dec-2015 West
Page 73 and 74: 80. Boru Gutama Hadiyo 13-Dec-2015
Page 75 and 76: 134. 135. 136. 137. Fayissa Dadhi 1
Page 77 and 78: 187. Mohammed Abdella Adem 16-Feb-2
Page 79 and 80: 241. Burruusee Taaffasaa Shorroo 24
Page 81: 295. Dejene Ibsa - West Shewa 296.
Page 85 and 86: 3. What is the government’s estim
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“Such a Brutal Crackdown”

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