By Felix Horne
For
the past six months, thousands of people have taken to the streets in
Ethiopia’s largest region, Oromia, to protest alleged abuses by their
government. The protests, unprecedented in recent years, have seen Ethiopia’s
security forces use lethal force against largely peaceful protesters, killing
hundreds and arresting tens of thousands more.
Protesters
in Oromia region, Ethiopia, December 2015.
The
government is inexorably closing off ways for Ethiopians to peacefully express
their grievances, not just with bullets but also through the courts. In recent
weeks, the Ethiopian authorities have lodged new, politically motivated charges
against prominent opposition politicians and others, accusing them of crimes
under Ethiopia’s draconian counterterrorism law.
Just
last week, Yonatan Tesfaye Regassa, the head of public relations for the
opposition Semayawi Party (the Blue Party), was charged with “planning,
preparation, conspiracy, incitement and attempt” of a terrorist act. The
authorities citied Yonatan’s Facebook posts about the protests as evidence; he
faces 15 years to life in prison, if convicted.
In
April, Bekele Gerba, deputy chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC),
Oromia’s largest registered political party, and 21 others, including many
senior OFC members, were charged under the counterterrorism law, four months
after their arrest onDecember 23,
2015. Bekele is accused of having links with the banned Oromo
Liberation Front, a charge frequently used by the government to target ethnic
Oromo dissidents and others. Deeply committed to nonviolence, Bekele has
consistently urged the OFC to participate in elections despite the ruling
party’s iron grip on the polls. Bekele and the others have described horrible
conditions during their detention, including at the notorious
Maekalawi prison, where torture and other ill-treatment are routine.
The
authorities also charged 20 university students under the criminal code for
protesting in front of the United States Embassy in Addis Ababa in March, 2016.
The “evidence” against them included a video of
their protest and a list of demands, which included the immediate release of
opposition leaders and others arrested for peaceful protests, and the
establishment of an independent body to investigate and prosecute those who
killed and injured peaceful protesters. They face three years in prison if
convicted.
The
Ethiopian government is sending a clear message when it charges peaceful
protesters and opposition politicians like Bekele Gerba with terrorism. The
message is that no dissent is tolerated, whether through social media, the
electoral system, or peaceful assembly.
Source: Human Rights Watch
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