At a recent party at Sheraton Hotel in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, Azeb Mesfin, the wife of Ethiopia’s tyrant Meles Zenawi, slapped Saudi billionaire Al Amoudi in front of hundreds of guests, according to Ethiopian Review Intelligence Unit sources.
Azeb, who is commonly known as “the mother of corruption” in Ethiopia, was reportedly incensed that Mohammed Al Amoudi failed to invite her to the party.
The {www:bitch-slap} that landed on Al Amoudi’s hairy face was so laud that it attracted the attention of almost every one in the hall, sources told Ethiopian Review.
After the incident, both Azeb and Al Amoudi left the party separately.
It is common for Al Amoudi to slap and punch his assistants when he gets drunk. His favorite punching bag is his chief assistant Abnet Gebremeskel. So he receiving his own medicine from some one higher up in the Woyanne {www:food chain}.
Alliance for Liberty, Equality, and Justice in Ethiopia (ALEJE) has organized a public meeting in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday, September 10, 2011. The Dallas meeting is part of a series of public meetings that was launched in Washington DC in July, followed by London, UK. The guest speakers Ato Andargachew Tsiege, Secretary General of Ginbot 7; and Mr. Amin Jundi, Secretary General of OLF, will speak on the theme of building the foundation for a united struggle against Woyanne’s dictatorship and for democracy in Ethiopia. Dr Aklog Birara, a prominent economist, will speak on the current economic conditions in Ethiopia. The fourth speaker, Shewayiref Getahun, a student at University of Texas, will share the youth’s view on Ethiopian’s future.
Pastor Daniel Gebraselassie, head of Prison Fellowship Ministry in Ethiopia informs U.S. Embassy officials in Addis Ababa that the Meles dictatorship has been perpetrating severe tortures against detainees. The information comes from the recently leaked secret U.S. diplomatic cables that are now available on Wikileaks. The following is an excerpt of what Paster Daniel told U.S. Ambassador Donald Yamamoto:
Through meetings with these prisoners while detained and following their release, Pastor Dan learned that they were subjected to severe torture while in prison. (NOTE: Prisoners refuse to meet with Ambassador Kassa, saying that the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission is not independent of the GoE. END NOTE) Pastor Dan told Embassy officers that prison officials used Derg-era techniques ) e.g. hanging prisoners from the ceiling in arm shackles, beating the soles of their feet and hanging boards from their testicles ) to try to extract confessions. One of the prisoners reportedly died from injuries sustained while in prison, though prison officials maintain that he is “sick in the hospital.” Another of the former prisoners reported that when he was arrested, police dragged him out of his place of work and was pistol-whipped by plain clothes security forces on the way to the detention facility. The released detainees told Pastor Dan that others detained after them on similar suspicions are still held in Maikelawi. In follow-up meetings with prison officials, Pastor Dan was told that such reports are incorrect and that the prisoners were never tortured. However, in a meeting with the Federal Police Commissioner, he was told that some low-level interrogation officers lack the proper training and can sometimes use unsanctioned methods. Pastor Dan told the group of Embassy officers that “officials at the PM cabinet level” do not condone torture either, and that in the past seven years nearly 200 prison employees had been fired for improper behavior.
The burning of Ethiopian woman, Shweyga Mullah, by the family of Libyan madman Gaddafi has shocked the world. The bestiality of the Gaddafis in subjecting a fellow human being to such unspeakable cruelty is horrifying to any decent human being. People around the world would be equally shocked if they see pictures of the tortures that are being perpetrated at this very moment by the U.S.-financed regime in Ethiopia.
One of the torture victims whose story the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalist wrote about this week is journalist Woubshet Taye. According to his wife, Berhane Tesfaye, Woubshet and other prisoners are being savagely beaten up and tortured by Meles Zenawi’s security forces. Woubshet told family members that he is unable to hear due to the torture.
The crime of torture by Meles Zenawi’s regime against Ethiopians is not news. Ethiopian prisons are filled with thousands of Shweyga Mullahs. All well-known international human rights organizations have extensively written about savage beatings of prisoners by the Meles rgime.
The Ethiopian women shown below have been burned by Meles Zenawi’s forces in Ogaden, eastern Ethiopia:
Farhia Mohamed Mahad (Age 20) — Civilians are arrested and jailed in Ogaden on mere suspicions of being part of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and Farhia was no exception. Farhia was only a child when she was arbitrarily detained and jailed at Garbo Jail in the Ogaden. No explanation was given for her arrest. Farhia remained in jail for five years. During her imprisonment, Farhia was subjected to torture, rape, and electrocution. Her body, especially her chest and breast, suffered severe burns as a result direct electric current. Farhia has permanent scar tissues all over her body. Farhia received no treatment for her injuries.
Ismail Abdirahman (Age 8) — Ismail came to the refugee camp with his grandmother Hawa Hassan. They fled from Gunagado, Dagahbur. According to Mrs Hawa, the military came to her village, caught many villagers by surprise, and ordered everybody to come out of their houses. The soldiers started targeting and burning certain houses including Hassan’s house. Ismail and his uncle Mahamud were in the house when the soldiers set the house ablaze. Mahaumud was severely burned as he shielded Ismail from the flames. As a result, Ismail suffered burns on his thighs and knees and Mahamud died from severe burns and fumes.
Recent interviews with individuals who have been held in non-traditional detention facilities have shed anecdotal light on beatings and abuse by Ethiopian security officials against civilians in country. While we cannot confirm the scope or persistence of such mistreatment, these first-hand reports do offer a unique insight into abuse of detainees and dynamics regarding Ethiopia’s non-traditional detention facilities. A handful of released political and other prisoners in Ethiopia have recently reported to PolOff that they and other detainees have been tortured in police station jails in attempts by security officials to elicit confessions before cases go to trial. Depending on the detainee, abuses reported include being blindfolded and hung by the wrists for several hours, bound by chains and beaten, held in solitary confinement for several days to weeks or months, subjected to mental torture such as harassment and humiliation, forced to stand for over 16 hours, and having heavy objects hung from one’s genitalia (males). Based on what our sources have reported, torture seems to be more common at police station detention centers (most notably Ma-ekelawi police station in Addis Ababa), while less is reported at Kaliti prison. Released prisoners have also reported to PolOff cases of prisoners being detained for several years without being charged and without trial, prisoners held in jails despite having been released by the courts, and police interference with court proceedings.
The question Ethiopians ask the Obama Administration is, in light of such overwhelming evidences, including testimonies by U.S. officials about the crime of torture that is being perpetrated by the Meles regime against Ethiopian civilians, why is the U.S. continuing to prop up the regime with billions of dollars in assistance?
The U.S.-financed tyrant in Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, has been committing horrific crimes in Ethiopia during the past 20 years. Many of these crimes have been documented by every major international human rights organization, including Amnesty Int’l and Human Rights Watch. Ignoring such crimes against humanity, the U.S. Obama Administration has allocated $580 million in assistance to the Meles regime in 2011. The following are graphic pictures of two Ethiopian women and an 8-year-old boy in the Ogaden region who are suspected of being supporters of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). Such actions alone should have landed Meles at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Instead, he is invited by the U.K. and U.S. governments to attend G20 meetings. The photos below are provided by African Rights Monitor (ARM) this week:
Kowsar Yusuf Gud’Ade (Age 23) — Kowsar was arbitrarily detained by security forces of Ethiopia’s tyrant Meles Zenawi.
While in detention, she was severely beaten and tortured. The soldiers used different methods of torture including electrocution. Kowsar’s left arm was broken during one of the many beating sessions.
Kowsar begged for mercy and asked for medical attention, but the army denied her any treatment. She was eventually released. No explanation was given for the arrest or the subsequent release. Kowsar sought treatment for her injuries.
As shown in the picture, the injury was severe and the damage could not be reversed as the treatment facilities in the Ogaden are not equipped to deal with such severe injuries. She fled the region shortly after her release. Kowsar is now in constant pain and has so far not received the proper medical attention.
Farhia Mohamed Mahad (Age 20) — Civilians are arrested and jailed in Ogaden on mere suspicions of being part of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and Farhia was no exception. Farhia was only a child when she was arbitrarily detained and jailed at Garbo Jail in the Ogaden. No explanation was given for her arrest. Farhia remained in jail for five years. During her imprisonment, Farhia was subjected to torture, rape, and electrocution. Her body, especially her chest and breast, suffered severe burns as a result direct electric current. Farhia has permanent scar tissues all over her body. Farhia received no treatment for her injuries.
Ismail Abdirahman (Age 8) — Ismail came to the refugee camp with his grandmother Hawa Hassan. They fled from Gunagado, Dagahbur. According to Mrs Hawa, the military came to her village, caught many villagers by surprise, and ordered everybody to come out of their houses. The soldiers started targeting and burning certain houses including Hassan’s house. Ismail and his uncle Mahamud were in the house when the soldiers set the house ablaze. Mahaumud was severely burned as he shielded Ismail from the flames. As a result, Ismail suffered burns on his thighs and knees and Mahamud died from severe burns and fumes.
(VOA) — Ethiopian government Woyanne and rebels in the restive Ogaden region have confirmed a deadly clash this week in an area where a Chinese firm is exploring for oil. Each of the two side’s respective versions of the event differ sharply.
Details provided by both the Ethiopian government Woyanne and rebels of the Ogaden National Liberation Force [ONLF] are sketchy.
But they agree that clashes took place this week in Ethiopia’s Somali region, between the main city, Jijiga, and the town of Degehabur, 150 kilometers to the south. The area is about 500 kilometers east of Addis Ababa, where the Chinese firm PetroTrans is exploring for oil.
ONLF communiqué
An ONLF communiqué received by email Friday said 25 soldiers from an elite Ethiopian Woyanne army brigade had been killed, along with a few rebel fighters in a battle last Tuesday. The statement said the army units had been escorting a PetroTrans exploration team, and had been “dislodging farmers from their lands” on the pretext that their farms were located on a seismic fault line.
The ONLF email alleged that the Chinese workers embedded with the army were wearing army camouflage uniforms, jeopardizing their rights as unarmed civilians stipulated in the Geneva Convention.
Ethiopian government Woyanne spokesman Shimeles Kemal ridiculed the ONLF claim. In a telephone interview, he said rebels had attacked what he called “civilian targets,” but had been rebuffed by local militia, suffering heavy casualties.
Contradictory version of events
“It’s the usual lie, the usual fabrication by the ONLF propaganda machinery. There was no attack against Ethiopian Woaynne soldiers that allegedly accompanied the Chinese oil exploration company,” said Shimeles. “What happened was, a bunch of ONLF rebel forces had tried to launch an attack against civilian targets. The local militia had ambushed and preempted their attack, and in the ensuing conflict, 11 members of ONLF were killed there and then.”
Shimeles confirmed that oil exploration is in progress in the region, but denied there had been any attacks on oil workers or their facilities.
“There are some oil exploration companies, particularly PetroTrans oil exploration company, which undertakes an exploration of oil in the area, and this company has undertaken its activities, and so far there has been no incident, no attack on it. They are undertaking their operation peacefully.
The Ogaden has since been largely off limits to foreigners. The International Committee of the Red Cross was expelled from the region by the Ethiopian government in 2008 after being accused of providing aid to the rebels.
Two Swedish journalists were arrested in the Ogaden in July after being injured in a battle between pro-government Woyanne forces and ONLF rebels. The pair remain in jail, and have a court date next week.
Farhia Mohamed Mahad (Age 20) — Civilians are arrested and jailed in Ogaden on mere suspicions of being part of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and Farhia was no exception. Farhia was only a child when she was arbitrarily detained and jailed at Garbo Jail in the Ogaden. No explanation was given for her arrest. Farhia remained in jail for five years. During her imprisonment, Farhia was subjected to torture, rape, and electrocution. Her body, especially her chest and breast, suffered severe burns as a result direct electric current. Farhia has permanent scar tissues all over her body. Farhia received no treatment for her injuries.
Ismail Abdirahman (Age 8) — Ismail came to the refugee camp with his grandmother Hawa Hassan. They fled from Gunagado, Dagahbur. According to Mrs Hawa, the military came to her village, caught many villagers by surprise, and ordered everybody to come out of their houses. The soldiers started targeting and burning certain houses including Hassan’s house. Ismail and his uncle Mahamud were in the house when the soldiers set the house ablaze. Mahaumud was severely burned as he shielded Ismail from the flames. As a result, Ismail suffered burns on his thighs and knees and Mahamud died from severe burns and fumes.
Kowsar Yusuf Gud’Ade (Age 23) — Kowsar was arbitrarily detained by security forces of Ethiopia’s tyrant Meles Zenawi.