4 - HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES

Since its foundation, on 13 June 1995, the Ogaden Human Rights Committee, has carreid out extensive investigations of the human rights situation throughout the Ogaden, and has documented gross violations, including illegal imprisonments, mass arrests without charges or trials, enforced disappearances, torture, rape, extrajudicial killings, abduction, forced labour, hostage-taking, systematic religious and racial persecution, dispossession and widespread looting by the current EPRDF government in Ethiopia.

To illustrate the above-mentioned assertions, some cases are detailed in the following pages, while other cases are listed and attached.

 4.1. Prisoners Of Conscience

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

In article 2 it states that “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion. political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status...”

Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), protects the inherent right to life. Article 7 prohibits torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Article 9 prohibits arbitrary arrest or detention, and provides that anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of reasons for his or her arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him. Article 10 provides that all persons deprived of their liberty are to be treated with humanity.

Aricle 10 of UDHR states that “Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.” Article 18 of the ICCPR provides for freedom of movement and freedom to choose a residence.

 Nevertheless, hundreds of children, women, businessmen, students, pastoralists, politicians and religious scholars have been detained, tortured, disappeared or killed by the EPRDF forces, because of their ethnic, language, religion, or political opinion. No one was ever brought before a public hearing. These abuses took place unchecked in the towns as well as in the rural areas.

4.2. Political Imprisonment

 In mid-1996, more than 2000 Ogadenis were in detention without charge or trial. The majority of the detainees were suspected supporters of ONLF, religious scholars, nomads, students, clan elders, politicians and businessmen. Some of them were released by the end of the last year or the beginning of this year. Most of the released detainees were civilians, who were in detention for long periods without charge or trial, while others were businessmen, who were held without charge for several months in order to extort money. Scores died in detention, were tortured, or disappeared without leaving a trace.

 Ahmed Mohamed, Abdullahi Qaji and Abdullahi Haliye, members of ONLF Central Committee, were detained in Hargeisa, North West Somalia, on 31 July 1996, by militia loyal to Mr. Egal, while they were visiting their relatives in the area. (See Mass Killings, Torture and Disappearances in the Ogaden ref: OHRC/08/96). On 20 October 1996, they were handed over to the Ethiopian government against their will, in exchange for ammunition. After repatriation, they were transferred to prison in Diri-Dhabo(Dire-Dawa). The International Committee of the Red Cross(ICRC), was given access to them, and has visited them several times. They have been brought before the regional court several times. Each time, they were taken back to their cells for lack of evidence.

In May 1997, they were brought before the regional court, which examined their case and acquitted them. The court declared that the police had no reason to continue holding them. Nevertheless, the prosecutor and the police, in defiance of the court order, have decided to transfer them to Jigjiga or Harar, where they would face long-term jail sentences, involuntary disappearance or death, without due process of law. The Ogaden Human Rights Committee fears for the safety and well-being of the three detainees,especially in view of constant reports of executions, disappearances, torture or ill-treatment of the detainees in Jigjiga and Harar detention centres to extract confessions.

Ahmed Makahiil Hussein, MP and former vice-president of the Regional Assembly, was arrested in September 1995, and remained incommunicado since then. (See Human Rights Violations in the Ogaden by Ethiopia, 1991 to 1996 ref: OHRC/01/96, Deterioration of Human Rights Situation in the Ogaden unabated ref: OHCR/07/96 and Mass Killings, Torture and Disappearances in the Ogaden ref: OHRC/08/96). In May 1997, he was brought before the regional court and charged with inciting armed rebellion. He pleaded not guilty. The regional court’s sentence was 7 years’ imprisonment. He was not informed the particulars of the charges and reasons for his arrest, has not had access to any evidence presented against him, and was not represented by a legal counsel.

 Hence, he did not receive fair trial in accordance with recognized international standards. On the basis of available information about his case, the OHRC believes that there was not credible evidence of his involvement in any violent activity, and his trial was a mockery of justice, and considers him a prisoner of conscience.

In May 1997, peacful demonstrations were held in Qabridaharre in protest against the central government’s decision to hold in the town a meeting to forge forcible unity between ESDL and some Ogadeni individuals, who were in detention and have been released in dubious circumstances without charge or trial. The government used excessive force to disperse the demonstrators, causing many unnecessary and avoidable injuries and arrested a score of people. Most of the detainees were released without being charged. But some remained in detention for unknown reasons without being charged or tried, including the following four officials: Mrs. Muhibo Arab Ali, aged 49, mother of 12 children, president of Ogaden Women’s Democratic Association(OWDA), Qorrahay region. She had been arrested several times before for her political activities. Abdullahi-jire Abdi Hajir, aged 42, fatherof 5 children, MP for Shaygoosh district, Qorrahay region. Abdi-yare Ma’alin Ismail , aged 26, father of two children, member of Qabridaharre Ogaden Youth Organization(OYO). Sadiq Abdullahi Yusuf, aged 32, father of 6 children, Qorrahay region police commissioner. They were recently released on bail, and were restricted to Qabridaharre.

 In November 1996, the following three officers of the Ogaden Welfare Society(OWS), were detained without charge or trial in Addis Ababa. They have been held incommunicado for some months: Dr. Mohamed Abdi-gani, Mohamoud Abdi Ahmed, Mubarak Aidiid Odawaa, Chairman, Director of Finance and Management, and Treasurer of OWS respectively. Mohamoud Abdi and Mubarak Aidiid were recently released uncharged, but Dr. Mohamed Abdi-gani remained in detention. No reason was given for his detention. To the best of the Ogaden Human Rights Committe’s knowledge, he was not involved in any illegal activity. The OHRC considers him a prisoner of conscience. The Ogaden Welfare Society is the only national humanitarian organization in the Ogaden which is recognized by the Ehiopian government. It has been responsible for building dispensaries, schools and digging water wells.

 Bashir Sheikh Abdi, Yusuf Muhumed Ma’alin and Mohamed Abdirahman,ex-governor of Hararge province, ex-governor of Dhagahbour region and ex-governor of Wardheer region respectively, were arrested in April 1997. They are being held in incommunicado detention without charge or trial. No clear reason was given for their detention. Bashir Sheikh Abdi who is an old man and in a poor state of health, is denied medical treatment. The Ogaden Human Rights Committee believes these three ex-governors may be prisoners of conscience.

 A number of businessmen and civil servants, were held incommunicado and without charges or trial for several months. They are being held in Maikelawi police investigation centre in Addis Ababa. They include Abdi-Aziz Ahmed Dahir, businessman; Abdirahman Isse, businessman; Abdirahman Mohamed Hassan, civil servant; Abdishakir Sh. Ismail, civilian; Omar Yoosle, businessman; Mohamed Ma’alin Farah, businessman; Hussein Mohamed, civil servant. They were subjected to torture and ill-treatment. Some of them were transferred to another detention centre for unknown reasons. The Ogaden Human Rights Committee is concerned about their safety and well-being, particularly in view of constant reports about confessions made under duress.

 Some outspoken critics of the government’s policies in the Ogaden are being held in harsh conditions without charges or trial in Jigjiga prison. Among them are: Mohamed Ali Abdi, clan elder (Also known as caaqil yare). He had been detained many times before for political reasons under Haile Selassie’s government and Siyad Barre’s government in Somalia, where he was in exile. In 1991, after Mengistu’s down-fall, he returned to his homeland. Abdullahi Galool Elmi, clan elder, from Dhagahbour region. Makhtal Abdi Dhiid, civil servant. He had been detained several times before for his political activities under Dergue government of Mengistu.

The Ogaden Human Rights Committee believes that they are detained for their political views, and are prisoners of consceince.

Mohamoud Sheikh Yusuf Haybe, aged 28, father of one child, civil servant, was arrested in Diri-Dhabo (Dire-Dawa) in June 1997. He is being held incommunicado without charge or trial. No reason was given for his detention. The OHRC considers Mohamoud to be a prisoner of conscience.

 The EPRDF government’s policy of keeping political prisoners in detention indefinitely without charges or trial did not change. However, in December 1996 and April 1997, some detainees were released without having been charged or tried. They were released on conditions which compromise and violate their constitutional rights. For example; they were released on bail, put under constant surveillance by plain clothes secret agents, compelled to report themselves to the police station from time to time, their rights to move from place to another were restricted and their telephone wires were tapped. They include Sheikh Abdinasir Sh. Adan, MP; Ibrahim Adan Dolal, MP; Nur Gooni, MP; Ali Bashe, MP; Riyale Hamud, MP; Khadar Ma’alin, MP; and others were businessmen who paid extortion money for their release. (See Human Rights Violations in the Ogaden by Ethiopia, 1991 to 1996 ref: OHRC/01/96, Deterioration of Human Rights Situation in the Ogaden unabated ref: OHRC/07/96 and Mass Killings, Torture and Disappearances in the Ogaden ref: OHRC/08/96).

The OHRC, which called for them to be either charged with recognizable criminal offences and given fair trials or released unconditionally, welcomes their release, and calls upon the Ethiopian government to lift the unconstitutional restrictions imposed on them.

 4.3. Extrajudicial Executions

 Article 3 of the UDHR proclaims the right to life, liberty and security of person. Under Geneva Conventions of August 1949 and Protocols additional to the Geneva Conventions, in case of armed conflict not of an international character, principles of humanity must be safeguarded in all situations. Acts prohibited in all circumstances include: murder, torture, corporal punishment, mutilation, outrages upon personal dignity, hostage-taking, collective punishment, executions without regular trial and cruel and degrading treatment. Furthermore, article 51 (1,2,6) of protocol I, protocols additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 states that “The civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy general protection against dangers arising from military operations. The civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians, shall not be the object of attack. Acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited. Attacks against the civilian population or civilians by way of reprisals are prohibited.”

 Nevertheless, contrary to the spirit and the letter of the International Human Rights Instruments ratified by Ethiopia, the Ethiopian armed and security forces have carried out systematically extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions throughout the Ogaden with impunity. These extrajudicial killings have been confirmed by adequate witnesses and documented by OHRC. The following cases are illustrative of the above assertions:

 On 18 July 1997, Khadar Dulguf Mashkooke, schoolboy, aged 14, was abducted by members of EPRDF forces in Godey. On 20 July 1997, his tortured body was found outside Godey military barracks. His death was a terrible shock to his father, who went into hiding for fear of his life.

 In March 1997, Ugas Mohamed Muhumed Fatule, clan elder, his nephew Ibrahim Deeh Fatule and nine other civilians, were detained in Shaygoosh and transferred to military barracks in Qabridaharre. Ugas Mohamed and his nephew were killed , their dismembered bodies displayed in the town, and were refused burial for two days. The fate and whereabouts of the other detainees is unknown up to now but they are presumed dead.

In Janaury 1997, Fadumo Ali Ahmed, a nursing mother; Sahra Abdi Omar and Asli Ali Farah, were abducted at gun-point by EPRDF forces. After three days their bodies were found in a nearby bush. They had been strangled and sexually assualted. Their eyes were gouged out and breasts were cut off.

 In October 1996, the following individuals were killed, without due process of law by the government forces: Haweeya Mahdi, housewife, aged 50, mother of 7 children; Abdishakur Magan, civilian, aged 35, father of 3 children; Dahir Ali, civilian, aged 41, father of 2 children; Omar Dubad Omar, civilian, aged 45, father of 5 children; Deeq Mohamed, civilian, aged 26, father of 2 children. They were tortured before execution.

 In Wardheer, the EPRDF forces rounded up a group of civilians and summarily executed them in the outskirts of the town. Among them were Abdullahi Ganey, Hiis Mohamed Omar, Roble Shafi’i, Ali Mohamed Hassan and Haji Mohamed Abdi.

 Kiin Mohamed Qani, Halimo Yusuf Nur, Qodane Abdi Kahin and Farah Ali Abdi, all nomads from Dhuhun area, were rounded up while they were tending their camels in the rural area. They were transferred to military barracks in Dhuhun and were tortured to death.

 In Godey, 27 people including Abdi Mohamed, Badal Muhumed, Abdi Ahmed and Ibrahim Mohamoud, were collected from the town centre at various times and summarily executed in public.

 In December, 1996, the EPRDF forces killed 18 civilians in a cold-blood massacre in Dhanaan. The victims were found shot, hacked and burned to death. Among them were seven children, six women and five men.

 In Iimey, Hussein Omar and his brother Arbe Omar were arrested, their properties confiscated and then they were tortured to death.

 Muhumed Hajir, Shafi Adan and Nur Mohamed, all nomads from Dhanaan area, were arrested and taken to the military barracks. They were tortured to death. Their relatives were told that they died in their sleep. The bodies of the victims bore marks of torture.

4.4.    Disappearances

According to principles on Detention or Imprisonment, priciple 12 and 16 (1); SMR, rules 7, 44 (3) and 92; Declaration on Enforced Disappearance, article 10(2 and 3); principles on Summary Executions, principle 6; a record of every arrest must be made and shall include: the reason for arrest; the time of the arrest; the time transferred to place of custody; the time of appearance before a judicial authority; the identity of officers involved; precise information on the place of custody; and details of interrogation. Furthermore, article (13) requires the authorities to investigate reports of disappearances.

A large number of people have disappeared after being abducted by members of EPRDF forces, while others disappeared from notorious military detention camps, or were transferred to secret detention centres in Harar or Addis Ababa. The fate and whereabouts of those people remain unknown to their relatives. In many cases they are presumed dead.

Many suspected ONLF sympathizers have been disappeared in detention without leaving a trace. They include Bashir Abdi Adan, civilian, aged 35, father of three children, who was taken by security officers from his house. He had been detained several times before on suspicion of ONLF membership.

In Janaury 1996, Ahmed Mohamed Arab, businessman, aged 42, father of five children, was detained in Dhagahbour, and was never seen again.

On 1st July 1996, Mohamed Ganey, also known as “Kabaal Qabad”, businessman, aged 39, was abducted from his shop by government forces. Since then his whereabouts is unknown.

In April  1997, Jibril Abdi Fatule, clan elder and his two daughters were detained in Shaygoosh, then were transferred to Qabridaharre military barracks. They were never seen again.

On June 1997, many people were detained in Dhagahbour. Among them were Nasir Gurey Ali, policeman, aged 35, his father and six others of their relatives. They were held incommunicado, and were subjected to extensive torture. Nasir subsequently disappeared in custody. His whereabouts is unknown to his family. No reason was given for their arrest. The OHRC fears for the safety and well-being of all detainees, particularly after reported disappearance of Nasir in detention. The OHRC calls for them to be either charged with a recognizable criminal offences and be given fair trials or immediately and unconditionally released. The OHRC asks for a public statement on the whereabouts of Nasir Gurey and other disappeared detainees as well.

According to reliable reports received by OHRC, many detainees disappeared in 1994, are being held in secret detention centres in Harar. They include Haji Ahmednur Sh. Mumin,  the Imam of Dhagahbour mosque, who was detained in April 1994 and never seen again. Abdullahi Abdi Taflow, ONLF Central Committee Member and Deeq Yuusuf Kaariye, journalist. They were detained in May and July 1994 respectively and never seen again (See Human Rights Violation in the Ogaden by Ethiopia, 1991 to 1996 ref: OHRC/01/96).

4.5. Torture And Ill-Treatment

Article 2 of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment states that “Each State party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture. An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture.”

Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, prohibits torture during internal armed conflict. States are also required to bring those responsible for torture to justice and to give redress and compensation to those who have been tortured.

In the Ogaden, there is neither arrest nor interrogation without torture. The Ethiopian government Army and Security Forces systematically torture suspected ONLF members to extract information or confessions. A number of people were tortured to death. The OHRC has examined a large number of torture survivors, some of them were disabled, while others bore scars of torture on their bodies. For example; the numbers of people disabled by torture in Godey, Qabridaharre and Dhagahbour were 503, 456, and 425 respectively.

Yusuf Hirsi Olow and several other members of ONLF were arrested in Djibouti in September 1996, and forcibly returned to Ethiopia. Every night he and his friends were taken out of their prison cells at gun-point, blindfolded and tied up for interrogation under torture. They underwent severe physical and psychological torture in the form of indiscriminate beating with heavy sticks, electric wires, guns butts and threats of shooting them to death by charging guns in front of them and aiming at their heads.

Yusuf was unable to cater for his sanitary needs, and was suffering from anal bleeding. He was denied medical treatment.

Abdi-hiis Ahmed Dahir, businessman, was detained on 12 November 1996 in Diri-Dhabo, transferred to prison in Addis Ababa. He was tied upside-down and was beaten indiscriminately. He is in a critical condition and was denied medical treatment.

Farhiya Ahmed, housewife, 8 months pregnant, was detained for inviting ONLF members to her house. She was tortured until she aborted.

Abdullahi Ahmed Qorane, was detained for suspected sympathy with ONLF. He was extensively tortured and is suffering the effects of the torture.

In January 1997, Nasra Sirad Dolal, housewife, aged 36, mother of eight children, was detained in Qabridaharre, and was forced to leave her children in the care of neighbours. She was held incommunicado for three months. In April 1997, she was released on bail and was restricted to Qabridaharre. She is related to ONLF Central Committee Member.

4.6. Torture Methods

Torture methods employed against detainees by the Ethiopian armed and security forces in the Ogaden include:

·        Deprivation of sleep and food.

·        Forcing detainees to drink urine or salty water.

·        Suffocation of detainees by burying them alive, which causes death in many cases.

·        Death threats, with charged guns pointed at the head.

·        Gang raping of women and child molestation.

·        Suspending from the roof upside-down.

·        Indiscriminate beatings with guns butts, heavy sticks or iron bars.

·        Denial of sanitary visits.

·        victims are left for extended periods, in prostrate position under the burning sun with their hands and legs tied togather behind the back.

·        Victims are burned with cigarettes.

4.7. Other Abuses

Article 17(2) of the UDHR prohibits arbitrary deprivation of private property. Article 17 of the ICCPR calls for the prohibition of arbitrary or unlawful interference with an individual’s privacy, family, home or correspondence, and unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation. That no one is to be held in slavery; that slavery and slave-trade are to be prohibited; and that no one is to be held in servitude or required to perform forced or compulsory labour(art.8). It lays down measures to protect the rights of children(art.24). It provides that all persons are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection of the law(art.26). It also calls for protection of the rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities(art.27).

The Ethiopian armed and security forces, which comprise ill-disciplined  ragtag militias from Tigray region, roam throughout the Ogaden demanding money and food at gun-point. whenever defeated, they take revenge on the civilian population, in defiance of international treaties, which prohibit reprisals against civilian population. Many people were arbitrarily deprived of their properties and life savings by the security forces, who intrude upon their privacy by getting into private residences and properties and unlawfully confiscating any property they fancy.

In July 1996, after an attempt to assassinate a government minister, the security forces staged a campaign of terror directed against Somalis. A large number of Somalis, who neither speak Tigrigna nor Amharic, were singled out on a linguistic and ethnic basis, and were detained, tortured or ill-treated. Many of them are still in detention without charge or trial. Somalis are periodically rounded up, detained and held in detention without charge for months in order to extort money.

The EPRDF government uses forced labour to build its military in the Ogaden. Many teenagers were abducted to work in military construction projects or transport ammunition and provisions on their backs in the rainy season or when there is fear of landmines.

On 15 October 1996, Ethiopian security forces surrounded and broke into the Ogaden Human Rights Committee’s office in Godey, ransacking all that was worth anything, including contributions and correspondences of the Committee.

The International Co-ordinator of the Ogaden Human Rights Committee Mr. Abdukader Sulub Abdi, who narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on his life  on 25 June 1995, has been repeatedly harassed by the Ethiopian Embassy in Switzerland as well.

There is a clear pattern of targeting religious scholars, places of worship, relatives of political prisoners and private properties of government opponents. In October 1996, security forces ransacked and destroyed Abdullahi Haliye’s house in Dhagahbour (See political imprisonment). In a similar act the house of the ONLF chairman Mr. Ibrahim Abdallah, was ransacked and blown up by the Ethiopian securiy forces in Godey on 30 June 1997.

Religious scholars have been the targets of verbal and physical attacks. A large number of religious leaders have been detained, disappeared, tortured or killed in the last five years. Many Imams are reluctant to preach to the faithful or lead prayers in mosques for fear of their lives. A score of mosques and religious schools were destroyed or shut down by the EPRDF government.

The practice of taking family members or close relatives of government political opponents as hostages, and holding them under torture until the suspected activist reports himself to the security forces is widely employed by the Ethiopian security forces in the Ogaden.

The Ogaden Human Rights Committee, has evidence that family members and relatives of political prisoners have been harassed and intimidated constantly by the Ethiopian security forces. 

For further details, please refer to the attached lists at the end of the

 report.

A pro-government group within EPRDF (Refer to background).