:
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and the Ethiopian
People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front [EPRDF] have ruled Ethiopia
since 1991. In 1994, the Government of Ethiopia [GOE] became a signatory
to the U.N. Convention on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment and Punishment, incorporated the language of the Convention
into its constitution, and subsequently criminalized all acts of torture
committed in the country. Over the past two decades there has been a
widening gap between law and practice, with numerous reports of torture
of dissidents in conflict zones [the Ogaden area of Somali, and Gambella
regions], and elsewhere in the country. This report is a detailed
analysis of the alleged torture history, and the physical and
psychological findings from forensic examination of 102 asylum seekers
in the United States who presented credible evidence that they were
tortured in Ethiopia. This study is unique because it is the first
comprehensive medical forensic analysis of a cohort of asylum seekers
from Ethiopia, a country whose officials deny that it engages in
torture, and cruel and degrading practices.
This study confirms the growing body of evidence that torture is widespread, systemic and committed with impunity by GOE officials, police, and the military to control opposition to the EPRDF. The arrests and the alleged torture described by our patients were entirely extrajudicial, with no charges being made, often resulting in long detentions, and prisoners denied access to counsel and the courts. It is evident from the statement of the U.N. Committee Against Torture in 2010, that the GOE is in violation of the Convention on Torture, including article , which requires signatories to take action to prevent acts of torture. This situation is likely to worsen with the passage of the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Law, which permits security officers and police to engage in torture rather than criminalize it, and the Charities and Societies Law which weakens monitoring of abuses committed in prison. It is in the United States’ interest to move away from its policy of “quiet diplomacy” towards Ethiopia, and in concert with its donor partners, leverage the enormous amount of development aid given to Ethiopia to force it to uphold and comply with the articles and principles of the Convention. Read more
This study confirms the growing body of evidence that torture is widespread, systemic and committed with impunity by GOE officials, police, and the military to control opposition to the EPRDF. The arrests and the alleged torture described by our patients were entirely extrajudicial, with no charges being made, often resulting in long detentions, and prisoners denied access to counsel and the courts. It is evident from the statement of the U.N. Committee Against Torture in 2010, that the GOE is in violation of the Convention on Torture, including article , which requires signatories to take action to prevent acts of torture. This situation is likely to worsen with the passage of the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Law, which permits security officers and police to engage in torture rather than criminalize it, and the Charities and Societies Law which weakens monitoring of abuses committed in prison. It is in the United States’ interest to move away from its policy of “quiet diplomacy” towards Ethiopia, and in concert with its donor partners, leverage the enormous amount of development aid given to Ethiopia to force it to uphold and comply with the articles and principles of the Convention. Read more
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