OLLAA has received a credible media report from BBC Afaan Oromo regarding the arrest and detention of Mr. Eyased Tesfaye, a political analyst and co-founder of Ubuntu TV, from a family home in Gerji, Bole sub-city, Addis Ababa, on December 7, 2021.
According to his mother, Ms. Tashaalech, who was interviewed by BBC Afaan Oromo in the days following his arrest, Eyased had been staying at their family home in order to take care of her after she had broken her leg. At around 8 a.m. on December 7th, eight officers broke into their home and proceeded to search it for the next three hours. Following the search, they arrested Mr. Tesfaye and confiscated his phone and laptop. He is currently detained without charges at Addis Ababa police station. Despite numerous attempts by his family to learn the reason for Mr. Tesfaye’s arrest and detention, the Addis Ababa Police Commander has failed to disclose this information to his family.
Mr. Tesfaye is known as a vocal critic of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. He was previously detained without charges for a period of 30 days following the issuing of the previous State of Emergency proclamation in 2016. Mr. Tesfaye recently launched a local TV station, Ubuntu, on which he hosts a show where he and guests analyze day-to-day politics of the Abiy government. Mr. Tesfaye’s family suspects that he was arrested because of his recent social media posts, in which he compared Prime Minister Abiy’s government to that of previous dictators. According to BBC Afaan Oromo’s report, he had received threatening phone calls and messages from unknown persons following his post, including some warning him that he would face serious consequences for his actions. .
In early November, Ethiopia’s Council of Ministers declared a six-month, nationwide state of emergency which allows them to arrest any person who they suspect has cooperated with a terrorist group, and detain them for the duration of the period in which the state of emergency is in effect. It also allows them to search the home of such a person without a warrant. It appears that the police officers executed the search of Mr. Tesfaye’s home, and his arrest, under the auspices of this declaration, despite the fact that he does not appear to have any known affiliation with groups who have been designated as terrorist organizations by the Ethiopian government.
Generally, international law does allow States to derogate from certain obligations contained in international human rights treaties during a state of emergency, in adherence with the principle of strict proportionality. Such measures often restrict the rights of persons deprived of liberty. However, it is important to note that the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has held that the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to which Ethiopia is a party, “does not allow for State parties to derogate from their treaty obligations during emergency situations.” Article 6 of that convention sets out that no person may be arbitrarily arrested or detained. Furthermore, even under international treaties, States are not permitted to derogate from all obligations to its civilians. Specifically, the Human Rights Committee has found that the “right to habeas corpus and amparo should not be limited in situations of emergency,” meaning that citizens who have been detained must still be brought before a court of law, and that they have the right to challenge the lawfulness of their detention.