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Opposition
party leader Birtukan Mideksa was arrested on 28 December and has been
held without charge since then, in solitary confinement. She has been on a
hunger strike, drinking liquids only, in protest at her detention. Her
immediate family have been allowed to visit her,
but she has had no access to legal representation or medical treatment.
She is held in Kaliti Prison outside Addis
Ababa, in a cell measuring 2m square, which according to former inmates
of the prison is often unbearably hot. Due to her isolation, she is
considered at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
Birtukan Mideksa is to day the leader of the Unity
for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party, one of several parties that split
off from the former
Coalition for Unity and Democracy
(CUD).
In
November 2008, Burtukan Mideksa spoke at a public meeting in Sweden about
the process leading to her release. Ethiopian government officials
responded by accusing her of denying that she had asked for a pardon, and
on 28 December she was rearrested. Shortly afterwards, the Ministry of
Justice issued a statement revoking her pardon and reimposing
her original life sentence. Mideksa was arrested for refusing to acknowledge that she had requested a pardon that led to her release from jail in July 2007, said Bereket Simon, a spokesman
for Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
Woizero Birtukan Mideksa, 35, is a lawyer coming from the Oromo community,
developed as a distinct political and ethnic group some time in the 16th
century in southern Ethiopia. Young, educated and charismatic, she is a single mother and
responsible for her frail mother. Before turning into full time politics, she came to national attention in 2002 when she
served briefly as a Supreme Court judge made headlines over a crucial
court case involving the prime minister as a plaintiff and his political
opponent, former Defense Minister Siye Abraha, as a
defendant. An example of her judicial integrity is the following. Judge Birtukan
set Siye (a former government official) free,
ruling there was no evidence to keep the defendant in jail over alleged
corruption charges. Meles dispatched his security men to the court,
reversed the ruling, and sent the former TPLF official back to prison. Siye had
accused Meles of treason as an Eritrean agent
who foiled Ethiopia s counter-offensive against Eritrean invasion in the
previous war.Her
verdict on the case and feminist activism brought her into the lime light.
She was elected as the first Vice president
of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD),
and was arrested among hundreds of people detained after demonstrations in the capital, Addis
Ababa, on 1 and 2 November,
in protest at the contested results of the parliamentary election which took place on 15 May.
CUD members won seats in parliament as well as
other electoral positions in May 2005. However, the results of the
election, in which the ruling party retained control, were disputed.
Election monitors reported vote-rigging and the CUD reported harassment
and intimidation of its members. Protesters demonstrating against the
results were fired on by government forces and at least 187 people were
killed. Thousands were then arrested, including scores of opposition
parliamentarians, opposition party leaders, journalists and human rights
defenders.
Birtukan Mideksa was among those arrested and adopted by
Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience. In 2006 she was
charged with treason, alongside other CUD leaders, parliamentarians,
journalists and human rights defenders.
On
July 16th, 2007 Ethiopia's high Court sentenced Bertukan Mideksa and other CUD
opposition leaders to life imprisonment for inciting rebellion, after the prosecution had asked for the death penalty.Prosecutors had requested the death penalty
for 38 of the defendants, who
were among scores put
on trial on charges of inciting the violence following the disputed polls which the ruling party won but the opposition claims were rigged.The opposition
leaders had refused
to recognize the court and did
not enter a plea, saying
the trial was political.
Birtukan Mideksa was released along with 37 otherson July 20th after being granted a full pardon by Ethiopian President after the opposition leaders could
have signed a letter admitting “mistakes committed both individually and collectively”.
The exact terms of negotiations, led by local
elders, and conditions of pardon remain unclear.
Birtukan Mideksa became the leader of the Unity
for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party, one of several parties that split
off from the former
Coalition for Unity and Democracy
(CUD).
In November 2008, Burtukan Mideksa spoke at a public meeting in Sweden about the
process leading to her release. Ethiopian government officials responded
by accusing her of denying that she had asked for a pardon, and shortly
afterwards, the Ministry of Justice issued a statement revoking her pardon
and reimposing her original life sentence.
Birtukan Mideksa was rearrested on 28 December and has been
held without charge since then, in solitary confinement in Kaliti Prison outside Addis Ababa, in a cell measuring
2m square. She has been on a hunger strike, drinking liquids only, in
protest at her detention. Her immediate family have
been allowed to visit her, but she has had no access to legal
representation or medical treatment.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please
send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own
language:
- calling on the authorities to release Birtukan
Mideksa immediately and unconditionally, unless
she is charged with a recognisable criminal
offence;
- expressing concern that she is in solitary confinement and at risk of
torture or other ill-treatment;
- expressing concern that she is a prisoner of conscience, detained
solely for the peaceful exercise of her right to freedom of expression
and association;
- urging the authorities to give her access to legal representation of
her own choosing and any medical assistance she may require, particularly
in the light of her hunger strike.
APPEALS TO:
Minister
of Justice
Berhan Hailu
PO Box 1370
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Email: justice@telecom.net.et
ministry-justice@telecom.net.et
Fax: +251 11 5517775
+251 11 5520874
Salutation: Dear Minister
COPIES TO:
Ambassador
Dr Kassa Gebreheywot
Chief Commissioner,
Ethiopian Human Rights Commission
PO Box 1165
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Fax: +251 11 2511 1618 0041
E-mail: hrcom@ethionet.et
TAKE
ACTION NOW !
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