Ethiopian authorities have subjected political
detainees to torture and other mistreatment at the main detention center in
Addis Ababa, Human Rights Watch said.
In a report released Friday, Human Rights Watch urged
the Ethiopian government to take steps immediately to curb illegal practices in
the Federal Police Crime Investigation Sector, known as Maekelawi, investigate
allegations of abuse and hold those responsible to account. "Ethiopian
authorities right in the heart of the capital regularly use abuse to gather
information," Leslie Lefkow, HRW's deputy Africa director, said in a
release. "Beatings, torture, and coerced confessions are no way to deal
with journalists or the political opposition." The report, "'They
Want a Confession': Torture and Ill-Treatment in Ethiopia's Maekelawi Police
Station," documents human rights abuses, unlawful interrogation tactics
and poor conditions since 2010. Those detained in Maekelawi include scores of
opposition politicians, journalists, protest organizers, and alleged supporters
of ethnic insurgencies. Human Rights Watch said it interviewed more than 35
former Maekelawi detainees and relatives who described how officials denied
inmates basic needs, as well as tortured and mistreated them to obtain
information and confessions, and denied them access to legal counsel and their
relatives. The Ethiopian government has a three-year human rights action plan
that recognizes the need to improve the treatment of detainees, HRW said.
However, the plan doesn't address physical abuse and torture but focuses
instead on increased capacity. "More funds and capacity building alone
will not end the widespread mistreatment in Maekelawi and other Ethiopian
detention centers," Lefkow said. "Real change demands action from the
highest levels of government against all those responsible to root out the
underlying culture of impunity."
Source ( UPI)
Saturday, October 19, 2013
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