WikiLeaks: Ethiopia - RELIABLE REPORTS OF TORTURE

http://wikileaks.org/cable/2007/04/07ADDISABABA1277.html

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 ADDIS ABABA 001277 

SIPDIS 

SIPDIS 

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E AND DRL 
LONDON, PARIS, ROME FOR AFRICA WATCHER 

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/24/2017 
TAGS: PHUM PTER PGOV ET ER
SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA: RELIABLE REPORTS OF TORTURE OF SOME 
POLITICAL PRISONERS 

REF: ADDIS ABABA 02629 

Classified By: P/E Counselor Kevin Sullivan 
for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 

¶1. (S/NF) SUMMARY: In a recent meeting, respected local NGO 
leader Pastor Daniel Gebraselassie (strictly protect) 
confirmed reports by Amnesty International of arrests and 
police beatings of a group of teachers. However, he told 
Poloff and officials from European Embassies that the numbers 
were much larger than originally thought, and that the 
prisoners, who are all also supporters of the opposition 
Coalition for Unity and Democracy party, had been tortured by 
police using methods commonly utilized by security forces 
under the Derg regime. Though most of the prisoners were 
eventually released thanks to efforts by Pastor Daniel 
Gebraselassie, he fears their arrest is part of a larger GoE 
program to identify and suppress (illegal) opposition groups 
in the Oromiya and Amhara regions since the start of 
operations in Somalia. Pastor Dan suggested that such orders 
are not coming from senior leaders, but rather that these 
practices exist among lower-level security officials. Post 
is still trying to assess how widespread torture has been and 
to what extent senior officials were aware of it. In any 
case, Post intends to elevate human rights issues as a point 
of concern in all official Embassy meetings. END SUMMARY. 

------------------------------------- 
AMNESTY REPORT TOUCHES TIP OF ICEBERG 
------------------------------------- 

¶2. (S/NF) On January 4, 2007, Amnesty International issued a 
report that three representatives of the largest Ethiopian 
trade union, the Ethiopian Teachers Association (ETA), had 
been detained by police in December and had been subjected to 
torture in prison. The three were allegedly being held at 
Maikelawi, the central investigation bureau in Addis Ababa. 
Though the prisoners had appeared in court, no visitor had 
been allowed to visit them. (NOTE: The ICRC does not have 
access to federal detention facilities. END NOTE) The ETA is 
generally viewed by the GoE as having close ties with 
opposition political parties and has been subjected to 
harassment and arrests of its members since the EPRDF came to 
power in 1991 (reftel). 

¶3. (S/NF) Pastor Daniel Gebraselassie (Pastor Dan) (strictly 
protect), head of the local NGO Prison Fellowship ) Justice 
for All, and a close Post contact, was recently granted 
access to visit the ETA prisoners following persistent 
requests. Pastor Dan subsequently invited Poloff and 
colleagues from the German, British and Dutch Embassies who 
represent a multi-Embassy human rights working group, to hear 
the findings of his visits. Pastor Dan, who maintains very 
friendly relations with the GoE, nonetheless said that 45 
detainees in total were being held, not three as reported, 
and that 25 of them were representatives from the ETA. 
Others, he said, were simply factory workers or government 
employees. All of the 45 were being held on suspicion of 
involvement with the Ethiopian Patriotic Front, a rebel 
opposition group with alleged ties to Eritrea. However, the 
real common thread among all the detainees, according to 
Pastor Dan, was that they are Coalition for Unity and 
Democracy (CUD) supporters, and come from Addis Ababa or the 
Amhara region - strongholds of CUD support. Pastor Dan told 
the group that some of the prisoners had been observers in 
the 2005 elections; others were CUD members and organizers, 
some of whom received support from CUD North America. 

¶4. (S/NF) Over the course of several weeks, Pastor Dan 
(strictly protect), in collaboration with the head of the 
Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, Ambassador Kassa 
Gebrahiwot, met with GoE representatives ("actors behind the 
scenes") to secure the release of these prisoners. Indeed, 
following their efforts, the first instance court ruled that 
there was insufficient evidence and ordered the prison to 
release them. Though the prison officials initially did not 
heed the courts ruling, continued pressure from Pastor Dan 
and Ambassador Kassa led to all being released. Four, 
however, have been detained once again on new charges that 
they are members of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), and 
currently remain in jail. Pastor Dan is working on their 
re-release. 


ADDIS ABAB 00001277 002 OF 003 


------------------------------- 
PRISONERS REPORT SEVERE TORTURE 
------------------------------- 

¶5. (S/NF) Through meetings with these prisoners while 
detained and following their release, Pastor Dan learned that 
they were subjected to severe torture while in prison. 
(NOTE: Prisoners refuse to meet with Ambassador Kassa, saying 
that the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission is not independent 
of the GoE. END NOTE) Pastor Dan told Embassy officers that 
prison officials used Derg-era techniques ) e.g. hanging 
prisoners from the ceiling in arm shackles, beating the soles 
of their feet and hanging boards from their testicles ) to 
try to extract confessions. One of the prisoners reportedly 
died from injuries sustained while in prison, though prison 
officials maintain that he is "sick in the hospital." 
Another of the former prisoners reported that when he was 
arrested, police dragged him out of his place of work and was 
pistol-whipped by plain clothes security forces on the way to 
the detention facility. The released detainees told Pastor 
Dan that others detained after them on similar suspicions are 
still held in Maikelawi. In follow-up meetings with prison 
officials, Pastor Dan was told that such reports are 
incorrect and that the prisoners were never tortured. 
However, in a meeting with the Federal Police Commissioner, 
he was told that some low-level interrogation officers lack 
the proper training and can sometimes use unsanctioned 
methods. Pastor Dan told the group of Embassy officers that 
"officials at the PM cabinet level" do not condone torture 
either, and that in the past seven years nearly 200 prison 
employees had been fired for improper behavior. 

--------------------------------------------- - 
45 LIKELY PART OF INCREASED OPPOSITION ROUNDUP 
--------------------------------------------- - 

¶6. (S/NF) In discussing the possible impetus to arrest these 
45 prisoners, and others allegedly still held, Pastor Dan 
told the group that since around the time of Ethiopian 
operations in Somalia, the GoE has increased its operations 
against opposition groups in the Amhara and Oromiya regions. 
This corroborates the contentions Post has heard from Oromo 
political party members, many of whom accuse the government 
of using the OLF as an excuse to harass its members 
throughout the region. Pastor Dan also theorized that this 
activity would not end soon, as he said some are interpreting 
recent rhetoric from the GoE as prepping the public for 
military activity with Eritrea. 

¶7. (S/NF) Clandestine sources have also reported large 
numbers of arrests in the December 2006 to March 2007 time 
period of CUD and alleged OLF supporters. Some of those 
arrested are brought to Maikelawi for interrogation. 
However, many opposition politicians maintain that many 
arrested in such suspicions are never brought to federal 
facilities, and are instead handled at the local level. 
Clandestine sources also report that many detainees at 
Maikelawi are held for extended periods for interrogation 
prior to any court appearances, sometimes for up to a year. 
In addition, clandestine sources report torture of prisoners 
at Maikelawi, as well as the recent case of two suspects 
arrested on suspicion of links to the OLF who were shot dead 
in their cells after confessions were extracted. 

--------------------------------- 
COMMENT: RED FLAG FROM PASTOR DAN 
--------------------------------- 

¶8. (S/NF) Pastor Dan sits on the President's pardon board, 
and through his work with his NGO Prison Fellowship, is often 
given access to visit prisons when no other outsiders are 
allowed. Though some opposition figures believe he is too 
close to the GoE, Post has found him to be one of the few 
Ethiopians who can be truly be considered politically 
neutral. (NOTE: He is also one of the "Elders" that are 
leading negotiations with the CUD detainees. END NOTE) Post 
deems him to be a reliable source and his decision to brief a 
group of Embassy officials on this highly sensitive subject 
is noteworthy. During the brief, Pastor Dan was visibly 
upset in describing his discoveries and while he notes the 
need to act on this information, he recognizes that this is 
particularly difficult. Post and other Embassies, if 
addressing the issue, cannot name Pastor Dan as a source for 

ADDIS ABAB 00001277 003 OF 003 


such information without compromising the level of access he 
maintains. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission may be the 
only institution that can hold the government's feet to the 
fire for such activity. However, many do not believe the 
Commission is independent and that it would never implicate 
the GoE for torture. (NOTE: In a recent meeting with EU 
Ambassadors, the Commission declared that torture does not 
occur in Ethiopian prisons. END NOTE) 

¶9. (S/NF) The GoE appears to be clamping down on the two 
groups that conceivably pose the greatest political threat ) 
the OLF and the CUD. While elements of Eritrean-backed, 
armed, illegal insurgencies continue to operate in Ethiopia, 
as well as in Somalia, the legal opposition caught in the 
crossfire will suffer the most in this fight. Many 
reportedly moderate opposition members have been harassed or 
arrested on the accusation of being part of insurgent groups. 
If the general population is given no choice other than 
support of the EPRDF or illegal opposition groups, democratic 
development in Ethiopia will remain stalled. 

¶10. (S/NF) Post is still attempting to assess how prevalent 
the use of torture is in GoE facilities, as well as whether 
senior GoE leaders are a aware of such practices. Pastor Dan 
has suggested that high-level instructions for the use of 
torture were not given. Regardless, human rights issues 
remain this Embassy's top concern, and we will now go one 
step further and raise human rights issues in all meetings by 
Embassy officers regarding all matters, including assistance. 
In addition, we will discuss these incidents with EU 
colleagues in order to coordinate responses. 
YAMAMOTO