Human rights groups claim thousands are
in custody for political protests
Thursday, February 2, 2006 (DOSE, Toronto) - THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS have been arrested in Ethiopia and may be at risk of torture, Amnesty International claims. Over the past three months, students have been arrested and held after anti-government demonstrations, the human-rights group claims. Many of the students were arrested in the southern region of Oromiya, which includes the capital, Addis Ababa. Amnesty says the detainees are being held in areas where torture has been frequently reported. “The whereabouts of many of the detainees, some taken to remote rural prisons, are not known,” the organization reported.
The demonstrations have been taking place sporadically since the political opposition dismissed the May elections as fraudulent. The rebel group Oromo Liberation Front reportedly called for the latest demonstrations against the government. The U.S.-based group Human Rights Watch claims unrest in June and November left more than 76 demonstrators dead. According to Amnesty International, some of those arrested were students younger than 18, while others were teachers, farmers and business people.
— REUTERS
