Habtamu Ayalew Teshome () is an Ethiopian journalist and political analyst who was formerly
imprisoned
Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...
and
torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
d as an
opposition leader
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
in Ethiopia during the
EPRDF
The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF; ) was an ethnic federalist political coalition in Ethiopia that existed from 1989 to 2019. It consisted of four political parties: Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), Amhara ...
rule.
Background
Teshome analyzes the daily live
Amharic
Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...
Ethio 360 Ethiopian news broadcast from its headquarters in
Washington D.C
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
., through
satellite TV
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location.ITU Radio Regulations, Section IV. Radio Stations and Systems ...
, and social media since 2019.
The
TPLF
The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF; ), also known as the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left-wing ethnic nationalist, paramilitary group, and the former ruling party of Ethiopia. It was classified as a terrorist organization ...
–led
EPRDF
The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF; ) was an ethnic federalist political coalition in Ethiopia that existed from 1989 to 2019. It consisted of four political parties: Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), Amhara ...
regime in Ethiopia claimed consecutive election victories for nearly three decades in the country that was described as a repressive ruling and condemned for a frequent crackdown of
opposition parties
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...
, journalists, and dissidents. The regime announced wins for
2005
2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
,
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, and
2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
elections with 99.6% and 100% victories in the latter two terms. During the 2015 election, international bodies reported a crackdown on opposition parties and their supporters.HRW reported difficulties for oppositions in registering candidates and acquiring funds, arrests,
harassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and ...
,
intimidation
Intimidation is a behaviour and legal wrong which usually involves deterring or coercing an individual by threat of violence. It is in various jurisdictions a crime and a civil wrong (tort). Intimidation is similar to menacing, coercion, terro ...
, confiscating their equipment, and denying permits. Closer to the election, the suspicious death of opposition members and candidates was also reported. In addition, the authorities arrested opposition leaders, including Habtamu and charged them with the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (ATP). See ATP, for the abuse of the anti-terrorism law to persecute opposition.
Early years
Habtamu was active since his
youth
Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...
and enrolled in political programs organized by the
ruling party
The ruling party or governing party in a democratic parliamentary or presidential system is the political party or coalition holding a majority of elected positions in a parliament, in the case of parliamentary systems, or holding the executive ...
. He then assumed a leadership position for an
opposition
Opposition may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars
* The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band
* ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comedy ...
imprisoned
Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...
in 2014.
Detention (July 2014 to December 2015)
On 8 July 2014, Habtamu was detained at the prison in
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...
. As required by law, police reportedly did not bring him before a judge within 48 hours of his detention, and he was not formally charged until late October, which is also another violation of the law.
Defense Attorney
A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by the various ...
s and families also alleged authorities for denying them visits.
Terrorism charges
Habtamu's
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
charges were for allegedly providing support to an opposition Ginbot 7 party and which was designated a terrorist group by the
ruling party
The ruling party or governing party in a democratic parliamentary or presidential system is the political party or coalition holding a majority of elected positions in a parliament, in the case of parliamentary systems, or holding the executive ...
. Reportedly, his charges involved both
conspiracies
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
for terrorism and
incitement
In criminal law, incitement is the encouragement of another person to commit a crime. Depending on the jurisdiction, some or all types of incitement may be illegal. Where illegal, it is known as an inchoate offense, where harm is intended but ma ...
Getachew Reda
Getachew Reda Kahsay ( Tigrinya and Amharic: ጌታቸው ረዳ ካሕሳይ; born June 1974) is an Ethiopian politician who is serving as the Minister Advisor for East African Affairs. Before this role, he served as the Chief Administrator of t ...
accused the opposition for alleged engagement and connection to terrorist organizations. See ATP, for the abuse of the anti-terrorism law for persecuting opposition.
The 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (ATP)
International bodies criticized ATP as a deeply-flawed law that the government abused to limit
freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...
, silence voices, and persecute members of perceived opponents. The series of abuse that occurred ahead of the 2015 election was characterized as the manifestation of politically motivated hostilities.
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
and other rights bodies reported that Habtamu was one of the political prisoners who was subjected to such
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
Human rights organizations
:''The list is incomplete; please add known articles or create missing ones''
The following is a list of articles on the human rights organizations of the world. It does not include political parties, or academic institutions. The list includes ...
reported that the harsh prison conditions and abusing techniques at the ″notorious″ Maekelawi torture chambers involved hanging, beating, tying prisoners in a stress position,
electric shocks
An electrical injury (electric injury) or electrical shock (electric shock) is damage sustained to the skin or internal organs on direct contact with an electric current.
The injury depends on the density of the current, tissue resistance and ...
, prolonged physical exercises, and detaining people shackled in
solitary confinement
Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...
. Additional techniques included hanging a bottle of water to a prisoner's penis, pulling nails, exposure to cold, nudity, and being subjected to ethnic and other forms of slurs.
Detainees
Detention is the process whereby a State (polity), state or private citizen holds a person by removing or restricting their personal freedom, freedom or liberty at that time.
Detention can be due to (pending) criminal charges against the indivi ...
were
coerced
Coercion involves compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner through the use of threats, including threats to use force against that party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to in ...
to confess and sign incriminating evidence.
Habtamu got detained in one of the darkest, overcrowded, and terribly confined Maekelawi cells, which is also known as cell No. 7 (the Tawla bet), that he shared with other detainees. Mattresses were often wet due to
sewerage
Sewerage (or sewage system) is the infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface runoff ( stormwater, meltwater, rainwater) using sewers. It encompasses components such as receiving drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, and scr ...
flooding. Detainees were generally brought out to access the toilet twice a day around 6 am and 6 pm, for a total of a shared 10 minutes access time. Habtamu revealed that, on top of such restrictions, he was singled out and denied access to the toilet. One of the
interrogation
Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful informa ...
techniques applied to him included stabbing his head with an object that induced cold sensations and placed him in a suggestible mental state. Habtamu told the
VOA
Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American international ...
that prison authorities rejected the court orders, to allow Habtamu access medical treatment due to his deteriorating health conditions. There were also instances when his health reports were confiscated.
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
reported that Habtamu was denied communication with lawyers and his family when he missed the meetings organized by prison monitors. The report also pointed out that he was repeatedly beaten, mentally
torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
d, and held in
solitary confinement
Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...
for months.
Prison officer
A prison officer (PO) or corrections officer (CO), also known as a correctional law enforcement officer or less formally as a prison guard, is a uniformed law enforcement official responsible for the custody, supervision, safety, and regulation ...
s also told him, ″We are the police, we are the
prosecutor
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...
, we are the judge,″ and ″We are everywhere.″
Acquittal without release
Refworld reported that on 20 August 2015, the High Court acquitted Habtamu of terrorism charges due to a lack of evidence.
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
released another report mentioning that Habtamu and other political prisoners were formally acquitted on 20 September 2015, by which time his health condition had further deteriorated. On 2 December, the
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
upheld the High Court's acquittal of Habtamu.
Post-acquittal appeal and medical travel restriction
Persecutors appealed against Habtamu's acquittal, which allegedly prevented him from taking travels for his medical referrals that were not available in the country.
Public Campaign
Every Voice was an American nonprofit, progressive liberal political advocacy organization.
s were held against this restriction, and additionally, international bodies made calls on the government to investigate his torture, ill-treatment, and the causes of his illness.
Self-imposed exile and political engagements
Due to crackdown, harassment, and torture,
DOS
DOS (, ) is a family of disk-based operating systems for IBM PC compatible computers. The DOS family primarily consists of IBM PC DOS and a rebranded version, Microsoft's MS-DOS, both of which were introduced in 1981. Later compatible syste ...
reported that several Ethiopians sought
political asylum
The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...
in other countries or remained abroad in self-imposed exile. Habtamu remained in the United States following his medical recovery and resumed his work in human rights and Analytical Journalism— for ESAT, then to Ethio360 Media and as an active
Social media influencer
A social media influencer, or simply influencer (also known as an online influencer), is a person who builds a grassroots online presence through engaging content such as photos, videos, and updates. This is done by using direct audience intera ...
on
Ethiopian politics
The politics of Ethiopia are the activities associated with the governance of Ethiopia. The government is structured as a federal parliamentary republic with both a President and Prime Minister. The legislature is multicameral, with a house of ...
with over 225, 000 Facebook and 125, 000 Twitter followers.
Reactions
#
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
′s report said the Ethiopian government should immediately drop politically motivated charges brought against dissidents under the country's deeply flawed anti-terrorism law, specifying the 2014 crackdown against four
opposition leader
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
s including Habtamu Ayalew of the UDJ party. It added that the charges were part of an intensified crackdown against political opponents.
# The
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
Human rights
Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
Practices that listed the serious human and international rights violations against opposition members and journalists and called it "state-sponsored" violence. The report criticized abuse of the ATP law and authorities' refusal of Habtamu's timely life-saving medical treatment. The report described the
unconscious
Unconscious may refer to:
Physiology
* Unconsciousness, the lack of consciousness or responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli
Psychology
* Unconscious mind, the mind operating well outside the attention of the conscious mind a ...
health status that Habtamu was found in due to ill-treatment during his
imprisonment
Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...
.
#
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
called on Ethiopian authorities to allow Habtamu, an opposition politician to obtain life-saving surgery and medical treatment abroad. The report specified the severe progression of the Grade-3 hemorrhoids. Amnesty also detailed the harsh prison conditions, exposed the tortures, denial of access to toilet facilities and the
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
charges that the government imposed against opposition voices. It also called on the authorities to promptly and impartially investigate the detention conditions that caused Habtamu's health to deteriorate. In a separate statement, the rights group released a report on the 2014/2015
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
hostilities,
arbitrary
Arbitrariness is the quality of being "determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or principle". It is also used to refer to a choice made without any specific criterion or restraint.
Arbitrary decisions are not necess ...
pre-trial charges, and detentions, and listed the various torture methods used against opposition party members and suspected
dissent
Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to as ...
— listing the names of detainees including Habtamu, the ATP charges, and denial of access to lawyers and families, jailers coercing detainees to sign incriminating evidence, unfair trials, and the courts' failures to order investigations into the complaints. In its earlier report, it also called on the government to release protestors and to stop crushing political opposition and its hostilities ahead of the May
2015 election
Africa
* 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015
* 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015
* 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015
* 2015 Burundian presidential election 21 July 2015
* 2015-16 Central African g ...
, listing Habtamu and others who were charged with ATP.
# The 2015 and 2016 U.S. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released a report on violations, tortures, politically motivated terrorism trials, prison conditions, widespread censorship and surveillance, and the long list of violations against journalists, opposition members, dissents, and unofficial detentions of
NGOs
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
. The report covered violations of rights to appear in front of a judge within 48 hours of detention, pre-trial imprisonments, and ill-treatment. It also confirmed the lack of evidence for the terrorism charges against Habtamu and other political prisoners, and hence the acquittal.In its 2016 report,
DOS
DOS (, ) is a family of disk-based operating systems for IBM PC compatible computers. The DOS family primarily consists of IBM PC DOS and a rebranded version, Microsoft's MS-DOS, both of which were introduced in 1981. Later compatible syste ...
exposed the continued censorship and
surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...
against opposition political party leaders and journalists that involved
telephone tapping
Wiretapping, also known as wire tapping or telephone tapping, is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connecti ...
, electronic
eavesdropping
Eavesdropping is the act of secretly or stealthily listening to the private conversation or communications of others without their consent in order to gather information.
Etymology
The verb ''eavesdrop'' is a back-formation from the noun ''eave ...
, and agents attempting to lure perceived opponents into illegal acts by calling and pretending to be representatives of groups–designated by
parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
as terrorist organizations– interested in making financial
donation
A donation is a gift for Charity (practice), charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, Service (economics), services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donati ...
s. Other intimidations included using paid informants to report activities of individuals, active political groups, militia members, and unwarranted home visits and searches of their homes. The US also previously released reports on the Habtamu et al
allegation
In law, an allegation is a claim of an unproven fact by a party in a pleading, charge, or defense. Until they can be proved, allegations remain merely assertions.
Types of allegations Marital allegations
There are also marital allegations: m ...