from ADANE BIKILA in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Ethiopia Bureau
ADDIS ABABA, (CAJ News) – THE ongoing mass arbitrary detentions in northern Ethiopia are deepening the erosion of the rule of law in the country.
Hundreds of people, including members of the academic community, have been detained in major towns across the Amhara region since September 28.
Amnesty International quoted witnesses as saying the police and army came with a “list” and failed to obtain arrest and search warrants before detaining the civilians.
Those detained have largely not been brought before a court of law within 48 hours, as required by the country’s national laws and constitution, according to sources.
“The Ethiopian army and police’s ongoing campaign of arbitrary mass detentions in the Amhara region is yet more evidence of the government’s total disregard for the rule of law,” said Amnesty International’s director for East and Southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah.
The human rights organisation has appealed to authorities to immediately end these arbitrary arrests, press charges against those detained for internationally recognized crimes and follow due process, or release them without further delay.
“It is time for the authorities to stop using arbitrary detention as a tool of repression,” Chagutah said.
In recent months, Amnesty International has documented harassment, intimidation, and relentless attacks on journalists and human rights defenders by Ethiopian authorities, driving some into exile.
– CAJ News