The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has announced in a statement that it has been monitoring the cases of enforced disappearances and incommunicado detentions in various areas of Ethiopia.
In particular, in Addis Ababa city, Oromia region, and Amhara region where this alarming situation has occurred, the commission has contacted the relevant government officials, visited different detention areas of the suspects, and gathered information from families and other information sources.
Although Ethiopia has not ratified it yet, according to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, enforced disappearance is defined as “arresting, abducting a person by government agents or persons or groups authorized or supported by the government or with the consent of the government.” By taking, or in any other way destroying his freedom; By denying the arrest, concealing it, not reporting its location or destroying it, it is to make it completely outside the protection of the law.”
On the other hand, detaining a person without knowing their location and condition is a concept that describes the action of keeping a person suspected of a serious crime in prison without contact with family and lawyers for the purpose of criminal investigation; Both of these actions are gross violations of human rights.
According to the commission, the main reasons for establishing the practice of enforced disappearance, which is particularly known for its heinousness, are three main issues: depriving a person of his freedom without his consent in any way, the government being involved in the case directly or indirectly by giving permission or support or consent, and
He explained that denial, denial, or refusal to inform about the whereabouts and condition of a person who has forcibly disappeared.
Based on the complaints and suggestions received from Addis Ababa city, Oromia, and Amhara regions, Isemeco said, based on the monitoring he has been doing, he has confirmed that there have been many acts of forced disappearance.
Most of the time, the victims of this act are arrested from their homes, workplaces, or streets by civil and uniformed government security personnel without a court order and then taken to an unknown location. While some have been reported to have recovered after days, weeks, or months of hiding, others remain in forced hiding as of the time of this statement.
He said that some of these victims were taken to the regular police station after being told that they were wanted for a crime when they were arrested, and some of them were taken by the security forces without being told.
For example, in Addis Ababa city from April 24, 2015. It is understood that among the people who were forcibly hidden in the past, they were taken to the federal police station after a different amount of time. The Commission has continued its investigation into alleged mistreatment or torture during the forced disappearance and announced that it will release the correct information once the investigation is completed.
ISMECO Chief Commissioner Dr. Daniel Bekele said, “The government should take all the necessary temporary and permanent measures to stop this terrible act of forced abduction, all the disappeared people should be released immediately, and a full investigation should be carried out on the actions that took place while they were hidden, and accountability should be confirmed, and considering the seriousness of the problem “We should set up a national independent investigation team to find the victims of the act and ensure justice,” he stressed.