{"id":1210,"date":"2010-09-19T14:34:31","date_gmt":"2010-09-19T18:34:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/174.120.63.226\/~hrlha\/?p=1210"},"modified":"2010-09-19T14:34:31","modified_gmt":"2010-09-19T18:34:31","slug":"rom-maikelawi-to-kaliti-bekele-jirata-tells-the-plight-of-oromo-political-prisoners-under-zenawis-regime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.humanrightsleague.org\/?p=1210","title":{"rendered":"FROM MAIKELAWI TO KALITI \u2013 Bekele Jirata Tells the Plight of Oromo Political Prisoners under Zenawi\u2019s Regime"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Mr. Bekele Jirata, Former Secretary General of OFDM and Former \"\"<\/a>Prisoner of Conscience under the Ethiopian regime of Meles Zenawi<\/em><\/div>\n
\n

The following is a first-hand account of the plight of Oromo political prisoners under the Ethiopian regime of Meles Zenawi as told by Mr. Bekele Jirata, who was the Secretary General of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM), a prominent opposition political organization, when he was jailed by Ethiopian security forces in late 2008. Mr. Bekele Jirata is an agricultural expert with a Master\u2019s degree and was previously employed by the Oromia Water Resources Bureau.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Note: Some parts describe graphic torture methods; reader discretion is advised.<\/em>
\n\"Gadaa.com\"<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nFROM MAIKELAWI TO KALITI<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
\n<\/strong>THE TORTURE-PRISON SYSTEM<\/span><\/strong>
\nMaikelawi<\/em> is the Amharic name for the Federal Police Crime Investigation and Forensic Department (FPCFD); and\u00a0Kaliti<\/em> is the main prison located on the eastern outskirts of Finfinne (Addis Ababa) in Hakaki Kaliti\u00a0Woreda<\/em> (county).<\/p>\n

Maikelawi is the well-known detention and torturing center in the country. It used to also be calledSostenga Police Tabiya<\/em> (the Third Police Station) during Mengistu\u2019s military regime. This is the place where Oromo sons and daughters experience the most atrocities committed by the EPRDF federal police, security services and anti-terrorism task force. This was the place where innocent Oromos, including myself, were detained, beaten, intimidated and dehumanized in 2008. This is not new to Oromos, but I am talking about what I had witnessed.<\/p>\n

Kaliti is one of the biggest prison centers where thousands of Ethiopian citizens, 90% of whom are Oromos, are suffering. I was lucky to be released on bail and to be able to escape the long term imprisonment passed on me on March 31, 2010. But, others, who were detained or sentenced on the same day, are now facing death, life imprisonment (Mesfin Abebe and Tesfahun Chemeda, respectively), and long-term imprisonments.<\/p>\n

This report covers only what I had witnessed during the one and half months of my detention in Maikelawi, and two months in the Kaliti prison.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nTHE MASSIVE ARRESTS OF OCTOBER\/NOVEMBER 2008<\/span><\/strong>
\nThe massive arrests of Oromos, which the EPRDF called \u2018the crackdown\u2019, was conducted from early in the morning to the evening of October 30, 2008. The arrests were without court warrants. Hundreds of heavily-armed federal police and anti-terrorist task force personnel were deployed for the mission in every corner of Addis Ababa city. It was a terror day for Addis Ababa city dwellers \u2013 a terror carried out by the government forces. The EPRDF terrorist group terrorized and arrested the following Oromo nationals. These are those arrested whose names I remember.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Eshetu Kitil<\/strong> \u2026 the owner of Hawi Hotel, arrested from his hotel office.
\n2.\u00a0Kebede Borena<\/strong> \u2026 the Deputy General Manager of Hilton Hotel, arrested from his home.
\n3.\u00a0Degen Borena<\/strong> \u2026 Kebede Borena\u2019s brother and a businessman, arrested when he went to his brother\u2019s house after hearing his brother had been arrested.
\n4.\u00a0Colonel Olani Jebesa<\/strong> \u2026 a retired military officer, arrested from his house.
\n5.\u00a0Wabe Haji<\/strong> \u2026 a legal adviser at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, arrested from his office.
\n6.\u00a0Degene Daba<\/strong> \u2026 the owner of a trucking business, arrested from his house.
\n7.\u00a0Roba Gedefa<\/strong> \u2026 an employee at the Niyala Insurancy Company, arrested from his office.
\n8.\u00a0Aberash Yadeta<\/strong> \u2026 an employee at the Oda Share Company, arrested from her office.
\n9.\u00a0Lelise Wodajo<\/strong> \u2026 an employee at the Ethiopian Television (ETV), arrested from her office.
\n10.\u00a0Hailu Delesa<\/strong> \u2026 a third-year Haromaya University student majoring in accounting, arrested from the university campus.
\n11.\u00a0Bayisa Husen<\/strong> \u2026 a student at Ambo High School, arrested from his house.
\n12.\u00a0Bekele Negeri<\/strong> \u2026 an owner of a small business, arrested from his house.
\n13.\u00a0Bogale Mosisa<\/strong> \u2026 a shopkeeper, arrested in Paisa area.
\n14.\u00a0Kabebo Faye<\/strong> \u2026 a retiree (70 years old) and a Board Member of the Mecha-Tulema Development and Welfare Association, arrested from his house; and he later died immediately after his release from Maikelawi.
\n15.\u00a0Bekele Jirata<\/strong> \u2026 the Secretary General of OFDM, arrested while going to the office (OFDM office).
\n16.\u00a0Husein Moga<\/strong> \u2026 a day laborer, arrested from his house.
\n17.\u00a0Yasin Jarso<\/strong> \u2026 a day laborer, arrested from his house.
\n18.\u00a0Zeynu Mohamad<\/strong> \u2026 a shopkeeper, arrested from his shop.
\n19.\u00a0Zerihun Wodajo<\/strong> \u2026 a renown Oromo artist, arrested from his house; and he was released from Maikelawi after one and half months detention.
\n20.\u00a0Asefa Tefera Dibaba<\/strong> \u2026 a well-known writer and a lecturer at Addis Ababa University; he was released from Maikelawi after one and half months of detention.
\n21.\u00a0Emiru Gurmesa<\/strong> \u2026 who had been released from Kaliti prison after 4 years of imprisonment without trial, and he was arrested and detained again in Maikelawi; he died immediately after his release from Maikelawi.
\n22.\u00a0Two women<\/strong>, whose names I have forgotten, were brought from Adama; they were released from Maikelawi after a month and half detention.
\n23.\u00a0Another young woman<\/strong>, detained with her 2-year-old baby; and she was released from Maikelawi after a month and half detention.
\n24.\u00a0Tolesa Wolde<\/strong> \u2026 a well-known lawyer, arrested in November 2008 from his private office.
\n25.\u00a0Abera Degefa<\/strong> \u2026 a Board Member of the Mecha-Tulema Development and Welfare Association and a Law lecturer at Addis Ababa University, arrested in November 2008.
\n26.\u00a0Tsehayi<\/strong> (whose\u00a0surname<\/em> I have forgotten) \u2026. the owner of a pharmacy, arrested from his pharmacy; and, he was released from Maikelawi after two months.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There were many, whose names I do not remember, who were brought from different parts of the Oromia regional state and also from Amhara regional state\u2019s Oromia zone, Kemise area. Three young Oromos, who were arrested in mid October from Kemise area, were first taken to the Afar regional state\u2019s police station and tortured bitterly; with their hands tied, they were left naked to be bitten by mosquitoes for two weeks before they were brought to Maikelawi. Since then, no one knows their whereabouts.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nTHOSE ABDUCTED FROM OTHER COUNTRIES FOR TORTURE AND DEATH<\/span><\/strong>
\nTesfahun Chemeda and Mesfin Abebe were abducted from Nairobi, Kenya, in 2007; and they were later detained in an unknown place for over two years without appearing in court until they were brought to Maikelawi and finally headed the charge list of the 16 Oromos of the March 31, 2010 decision.<\/p>\n

Four Oromos, who were kidnapped in 2006 from Somaliland (Hargeisa), were also detained in Maikelawi for over two years; they were never taken to court. One of them was an old man of 60 years. No one knows what had happened and their whereabouts since then.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nTHE MAIKELAWI TORTURE PRISON<\/span><\/strong>
\nThere are three different officially known detention houses in Maikelawi; one is\u00a0Chelema Bet<\/em> (the Dark Dungeon). There are also underground and unofficial detention places inside the Maikelawi compound.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Dark Dungeon<\/em> is constructed in a \u201cU\u201d-shaped design; and it has 9 cells. There is a very narrow corridor between the opposite cells. At the end of the corridor is found the toilet, which is never maintained, and dirty water overflows from it.<\/p>\n

Above the cells are offices. This underground dark prison is built with black and heavy stones; and the floor is concrete; it is dark and extremely cold. There is light in the corridor which gives dim light to the cells through small aperture found above the wall left to let in air. Inside the cells, detainees can see each other hardly. In each cell of 4*4 meters, sometimes 12 (other times 16) people are jammed. No space to move, no light; you hear nothing, and you see nothing. The same cell is used for sleeping and for eating; a urine bucket is also there. The cell is poorly ventilated, and the unpleasant smell of the toilet disturbs. These conditions, added to the police humiliation, intimidation and torture, make it the worst of all in life. In these horrible situations, we had passed 46 days without seeing sunlight with the doors closed day and night.<\/p>\n

In this\u00a0Dark Dungeon<\/em>, there is also a special cell, Cell Number 7, which has other cells inside \u2013 cells within a cell. The inner cells are extremely narrow; and prisoners can not sit nor sleep, and it is used as an additional torturing method. Degene Daba was thrown in this cell for a week with his hands tied.<\/p>\n

During our stay in Maikelawi, we had never been visited by our family. I was visited by a lawyer only once. We were tortured physically and psychologically. Different torturing methods were applied on us.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Beating with electric cables, especially on the head and fingers;
\n\u2022 Kicking groups of detainees with military shoes and standing on barefoot;
\n\u2022 Forcing to stand still barefoot with hands raised above the head for a prolonged time \u2013 up to 48 hours continuously \u2013 without sleep and rest, day and night;
\n\u2022 Depriving sleep and rest, night and day;
\n\u2022 Tying hands to the roof and beating;
\n\u2022 Forcing to do physical exercises continuously. When a detainee is unable to move, walking on one\u2019s body with their military shoes, beating with shoes on the face and the head until one falls unconscious;
\n\u2022 Forcing to lie naked on wet concrete floor;
\n\u2022 Taking to the very dark room and terrorizing at gunpoint;
\n\u2022 Humiliating and degrading female detainees by making them stand naked surrounded by a group of policemen \u2013 injuring their human dignity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These and other forms of torture, like mental torturing through insults which can never heal, were applied on us.<\/p>\n

Degene Daba was among those who were bitterly beaten almost to death. He was urinating pure blood for a month while he was kept in chains. He was accused of transporting ammunition to the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) fighters. The police took a picture of him with bullets taken from one of the offices in the Maikelawi compound, and that picture was used as an evidence.<\/p>\n

Kebabo Faye, who was 70 years old, was denied medical treatment; he died immediately after he had been released from Maikelawi. He was ill-treated and mentally tortured by the police.<\/p>\n

Emiru Gurmesa, who was arrested for the third time in 2008, had also died after being released from Maikelawi. I had known Emiru since 1983. He was sacked from the Oromia Coffee and Tea Development Bureau in 1997 and imprisoned for one year. Again, he was arrested and jailed in 2004; he was then released from Kaliti in 2007. For the third time, he was arrested on October 30, 2008. When he was brought to Maikelawi on October 30 around 6 o\u2019clock, one policeman, standing in front of the office, said, \u201cOh! My God, this man is back again; I think this is his third or fourth time.\u201d<\/p>\n

EPRDF arrests and accuses peaceful and innocent Oromos with fabricated charges. That is why the charges are related to the occupations of the detained individuals.<\/p>\n

Those, who have private businesses, are accused of providing financial supports to young Oromos fleeing the country; those, who travel abroad for their own private businesses, are accused of contacting OLF leaders; those, who have trucking businesses, are accused of transporting arms to OLF fighting forces; those, who are either government or private employees, are accused of providing financial supports to the OLF. Those, who are students, are accused of agitating and organizing fellow students against the government. Those, who are in opposition political parties, are accused of recruiting OLF cadres disguised as party members.<\/p>\n

What we understand from this type of charges is EPRDF\u2019s intention to terrorize and eliminate Oromo nationalists to continue its domination without any opposition. EPRDF never wants opposition to exist in the country \u2013 which had been clearly seen in 2010 elections.<\/p>\n

Though the charges were about having relations with the OLF, the police interrogations and offers were about:<\/p>\n

– \u201cWhy do you hate EPRDF?\u201d
\n– \u201cWhy don\u2019t you work with the government?\u201d
\n– \u201cDo you want to talk to government higher officials?\u201d
\n– \u201cWhy do you oppose? You bring nothing if you oppose.\u201d
\n– \u201cIf you denounce OLF, you will be released.\u201d and so on.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The above clearly show that the charges were based on revenge.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nTHE KALITI CONCENTRATION CAMP<\/span><\/strong>
\nKaliti is located on the eastern outskirts of the capital, Addis Ababa, at about 25km. The prison used to have 6 zones when we arrived, but it later became an 8-zone prison center because of the huge number of new prisoners. Each zone has about 3000 prisoners. The walls and roofs of the prison houses are made of corrugated iron sheets. Zone #3 has 5 prison houses numbered from 1 to 5.<\/p>\n

In each of these prison houses, 600-800 prisoners are crowded. Let alone to sleep, there is no place to stand.<\/p>\n

Prisoners are beaten and ill treated by self-appointed gangsters. They can punish and order the prisoner to do whatever they want. They are the ones who decide and force people to sleep where there is no place to sleep. They order others to pile human beings like sacks of wheat \u2013 one head down, the other head opposite, and the third one on top of the two.<\/p>\n

If a prisoner gives money, they treat him better than those who do not have money. Corruption in the Kaliti prison is official \u2013 even up to the prison administration. There are\u00a0corruption dealers<\/em> who terrorize newcomers, saying, \u201cunless you give money, the administration will send you to Ziway or Shoa Robit prisons,\u201d which are very harsh to live, and are located far away from one\u2019s family.<\/p>\n

Because of the suffocation created by overcrowding, the lack of sanitation, the shortage of toilets and bathrooms, the lack of medical treatments, the lack of sleeping places, many prisoners suffer from TB (Tuberculosis) and other diseases, everybody through the prison coughs. Four prisoners had died of untreated diseases within a month when I was there. I remember a young man called Sisay, who was a TB patient; he was denied medical treatment and died in prison.<\/p>\n

The prison compound is very small; it\u2019s dusty during the dry time and muddy during the rainy season; it\u2019s overcrowded and difficult to move around.<\/p>\n

At Kaliti, radios and newspapers are not allowed; even books written in the English Language are not permitted. What is available in Kaliti is cigarette that many young prisoners \u201cenjoy\u201d.<\/p>\n

Over 90% of the prisoners in Kaliti are youngsters, out of which 99% are young Oromos, aged between 18 and 35 years, accused of being either members or supporters of the OLF. The charges are fabricated; and the evidences are totally false. They are simply imprisoned because they have rejected to be members of OPDO\/EPRDF or they have spoken out their mind.<\/p>\n

Eighty percent of the young Oromos in the Kaliti prison are high school or university students. These young people are sentenced to long-year imprisonments. By the time they come out (if they escape death), they will be over-aged and could not continue school; they do not have plans about what to do next. Even they will not get place to live because the local OPDO\/EPRDF cadres will never allow them to live in peace. As a result, many, who have been through similar conditions, flee the the country after their releases. They suffer or die in concentration camps of the neighboring countries: Kenya, Somaliland (Hargeisa), Djibouti, Yemen, Uganda, Tanzania, and so on.<\/p>\n

Others, in violation of international laws, are abducted from those neighboring countries by the Ethiopian government\u2019s security services in collaboration with the host country\u2019s police; and they are thrown back to the same prison for more suffering and danger on their lives. Examples are Mesfin Abebe and Tesfahun Chemeda; Mesfin Abebe was sentenced to death, and Tesfahun Chemeda to life imprisonment on March 31, 2010.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nTHE (KANGAROO) COURT PROCESS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Gadaa.com\"
\nAmong Those Targeted:\u00a0Top<\/strong> (L to R) \u2013 Mr. Mesfin A. Abdissa, Mr. Tesfahun Chemeda.\u00a0Bottom<\/strong> (L to R) \u2013 Mrs. Aberash Yadeta, Mrs. Lelisa Wodajo, Mr. Wabe Haji, Mr. Kebede Borena, and Mr. Bekele Jirata<\/em><\/div>\n

All detainees of the October 30, 2008 case were taken to the nearby court after two days of arrest. The two Oromos (Mesfin Abebe and Tesfahun Chemeda), who were kidnapped from Kenya in 2007, also appeared in court for the first time on this day.<\/p>\n

We appeared in this court six times during this ordeal. Our appeals for being tortured by the police and our requests for bail were rejected by the judge.<\/p>\n

On December 15, 2008, we were taken to the Federal High Court\u2019s Third Bench; we appealed for bail, but the court rejected. We were taken to the Kaliti prison.<\/p>\n

On our third appearance, the court ordered the federal prosecutor to bring his witnesses to continue the trial.<\/p>\n

The prosecutor listed a number of so-called witnesses. Most of them were brought in by the federal police from different parts of the Oromia regional state and stayed in Maikelawi for a week to be given orientation, with the help of detainees\u2019 pictures, by security services on what to say in court. This was confirmed by the witnesses themselves.<\/p>\n

In addition to that, the security police showed the prisoners to the witnesses at the gate of the court so that they could clearly identify before appearing in the court. Some of the witnesses were those who were imprisoned by the same charge and released on agreements made between the government and the prisoners. Others were unemployed young people paid by the federal security service.<\/p>\n

The judiciary was under government pressure and direct interference. The prejudicial statement of the Minister of Communication, Bereket Simon, was a warning to the judiciary. The interference and pressure also resulted in changes of judges every now and then during the trial \u2013 causing the trial to be delayed for over two years.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nCONCLUSION<\/span><\/strong>
\nEPRDF continuously denies prisoners are political prisoners. But, the massive arrests, and sentences to death and long-term imprisonments of hundreds of innocent Oromo nationals is purely political; it is nothing else.<\/p>\n

As all knows, the killings, imprisonments and harassment of members of the Oromo People\u2019s Congress (OPC) and OFDM, and other opposition party members on the eve and after May 23, 2010 elections had been political.<\/p>\n

The acts of genocide the EPRDF government has carried out and still carries out on the Oromo people are not hidden from the international community, especially from the governments supporting this brutal government. Amnesty International (AI), the Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Oromia Support Group (OSG), the Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA), and other human rights organizations were and are still reporting the criminal acts committed by the Ethiopian antidemocratic government against peoples in Ethiopia in general, and the systematic elimination, especially, of the Oromo youth at the allegations of supporting the OLF.<\/p>\n

But, the never-ending human rights violations, and the genocide the Ethiopian government has committed and is committing have not gotten due attention from the international community, particularly from governments supporting the Ethiopian government. The U.S. Department of State has expressed its concern several times about the human rights violations and the antidemocratic moves of the EPRDF government, but it has never taken serious actions more than words that actually encourage the dictatorial regime.<\/p>\n

Finally, I appeal to all to use their leverages and say to EPRDF to stop chasing and killings Oromos and to release all political prisoners.<\/p>\n

It is difficult for me to report the whole situation and reality of what has happened to each Oromo national in Maikelawi and in Kaliti, and the process of the federal court\u2019s unfair trial. It does not even cover the entire inhuman acts the interrogators applied on me. It covers only the highlight. I will leave the rest for history.<\/p>\n

Bekele Jirata<\/strong>
\nFormer Secretary General, the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM)<\/em><\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Mr. Bekele Jirata, Former Secretary General of OFDM and Former Prisoner of Conscience under the Ethiopian regime of Meles Zenawi The following is a first-hand account of the plight of Oromo political prisoners under the Ethiopian regime of Meles Zenawi as told by Mr. Bekele…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1211,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ethiopia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.humanrightsleague.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.humanrightsleague.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.humanrightsleague.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.humanrightsleague.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.humanrightsleague.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.humanrightsleague.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1210\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.humanrightsleague.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.humanrightsleague.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.humanrightsleague.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.humanrightsleague.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}