Amnesty International Report 2014/15

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Head of state: Mulatu Teshome Wirtu

Head of government: Hailemariam Desalegn

Freedom of expression continued to be subject to serious restrictions. The government was hostile to suggestions of dissent, and often made pre-emptive arrests to prevent dissent from manifesting. Independent media publications were subject to further attack. Peaceful protesters, journalists, and members of opposition political parties were arbitrarily arrested. The Charities and Societies Proclamation continued to obstruct the work of human rights organizations. Arbitrary detention and torture and other ill-treatment were widespread, often used as part of a system for silencing actual or suspected dissent.

Ethiopia: ‘Because I am Oromo’: Sweeping repression in the Oromia region of Ethiopia

By Amnesty International, 28 October 2014, Index number: AFR 25/006/2014

Between 2011 and 2014, at least 5000 Oromos have been arrested based on their actual or suspected peaceful opposition to the government.

Ethiopian pilot who hijacked plane sentenced to 19 years in jail

Addis Ababa, 21 March 2015 (WIC) – An Ethiopian court sentenced an Ethiopian Airlines pilot to 19 years and six months in prison on Friday for hijacking his own plane and flying it to Geneva.

The high court in Addis Ababa issued its ruling on Hailemedhin Abera in his absence. He had been convicted in absentia on Monday.

Ethiopia expels prominent university professor for his anti government views

ADDIS ABABA - A prominent university professor known for his critical views against the government has been expelled from his job, Abugida news website reported on Tuesday.
Dagnachew Assefa, a professor of philosophy at Addis Ababa University, was      fired for his independent views and the scholar said the measure was "politically motivated."

Ethiopian Oromo Rebel Group Founder Returns to Domestic Politics

By William Davison, Bloomberg News 

(Bloomberg) -- A founder of a banned self-determination movement for Ethiopia’s most populous ethnic group, the Oromo, returned to the Horn of Africa nation to try and re-enter democratic politics, a spokesman for his splinter group said.

Oromo Democratic Front President Leenco Lata arrived in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Thursday, Lencho Bati, a spokesman for the group, said in an e-mailed response to questions. The group held inconclusive talks with Ethiopian officials over the past two years, Beyan Asoba, the head of the U.S.-based ODF’s foreign relations department, said in a separate e-mailed statement. Leenco began the Oromo Liberation Front in 1973 before leaving to join the ODF in 2013.

በጎንደር ከተማ አንድ የሚሊሺያ አዛዥ ተገደለ በርካታ ሰዎችም ታሰሩ

መጋቢት ፲፩(አስራ አንድ) ቀን ፳፻፯ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-የኢሳት ምንጮች እንደገለጹት የጎንደር ከተማ የሚሊያሻዎች ሃላፊ ኮማንደር መጋቢት 11 ቀን 2015 ዓም ቀበሌ 15 ወይም ፋሲለደስ ትምህርት ቤት አካባቢ ከምሽቱ 2 ሰአት አካባቢ ላይ ማንነታቸው

ባልታወቁ ታጣቂዎች ተገድሏል። ገዳዮቹም መሳሪያውን ማርከው ከእነ ትጥቃቸው ወደ አርማጭሆ ጫካ መግባታቸው ታውቋል። የጸጥታ ዘርፍ ሃላፊው ግንባሩ አካባቢ በጥይት የተመታ ሲሆን ወዲያውኑ ህይወቱ አልፏል።

ታዋቂ ወጣት ፖለቲከኞች ታሰሩ

መጋቢት ፱(ዘጠኝ) ቀን ፳፻፯ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-3 የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ አባላት መታሰራቸውን ለኢሳት የደረሰው መረጃ አመለከተ።

ወጣት ብርሃኑ ተክለያሬድ፣ ወጣት ፍቅረማርያም አስማማውና እየሩሳሌም ተስፋው ካለፉት 2 ሳምንታት ጀምሮ በማእከላዊ እስር ቤት ውስጥ እንደሚገኙ ኢሳት አረጋግጧል።