Dawit Abdeta was born in 1983 in the Meki Town East Shoa zone of Oromia. He graduated with a BSc. in chemistry in 2005 from Debub University, a MSc. in chemical engineering in 2012 from Addis Ababa University and a BA in business administration and information science in 2017 from Addis Ababa School of Commerce. Dawit has been a member of the OLF since 2007.
On July 12, 2020, although lacking a court order, federal police arbitrarily arrested him at home, along with Lammi Benya. The security forces accused Dawit of instigating chaos and disturbance, and he was released on bail of 20,000 Ethiopian birr. The federal police subsequently submitted a new charge to the Oromia Supreme Court, changing the original charges of instigation to the more serious charge of terrorism . On December 24, 2020, the same Court acquitted him of this terrorism charge. The police, however, refused to release him, keeping him imprisoned. On January 26, the Oromia Office of the Attorney General appealed to the Federal High Court. On July 2, 2021, the Federal High Court once again acquitted Dawit by affirming the Oromia Supreme Court’s decision. Despite acquittal, Dawit remains in prison. He has been transferred to various military camps and police stations since the day of his arrest in 2020. According to Lammi Gemechu, Head of Public Relations for OLF, Dawit Abdeta has been detained in the following official and unofficial detention centers:
- 12/07/2020 – 16/08/2020 at 6 Kilo prison (unofficial)
- 16/08/2020-15/09/2020 at Sansusi prison facility
- 15/09/2020- 23/11/2020 at Dality detention center
- 23/11/2020 – 21/12/2020 returned to hidden detention center at 6 Kilo
- 21/12/2020 -04/02/2021 at Sebeta Hawas police office
- 04/02/2021 – 13/07/2021 at Modjo police office
- 13/07/2021- 27/07/2021 at Awash Melka Arm center
- 27/07/2021 – 30/07/2021 at Gelen City police department
- 30/07/2021 – the police took them back to Dire Sololiya army camp to hide them from EHRC
- 21/09/2021 – 08/02/2022 subjected to harassment and torture by police at Dire Sololiya arm camp
- 08/02/2022 – 18/04/2023 at Burayu City Police Department
- 18/04/2023 – 22/05/2023 at Dukem Town police department
- On 22/05/2023, once again they were taken back to Burayu City Police Department
Despite repeated acquittals by Ethiopia’s courts of law, Mr. Dawit Abdeta remains illegally detained by the Oromia Police Commission. He has been held incommunicado for most of his imprisonment, confined in difficult, unsanitary, and cramped conditions that expose him and other prisoners both to emotional trauma and to various incurable diseases in the abovementioned prison centers. He was also subjected to torture. His family and friends are gravely concerned by his deteriorating health.
International Law
International law protects citizens from arbitrary arrests and detentions, which are arrests and detentions that are not in accordance with the procedures established by law, and guarantees certain rights to those who have been detained, including to the due process of law.
The right of detained persons to access medical care has its basis in the right of all persons deprived of their liberty to be treated with humanity and respect to the inherent dignity of the person (ICCPR Article 10), as well as in Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which sets out that all persons have the right “to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.” In addition, the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules) set out that States have a responsibility to provide health care for prisoners, and that “[P]risoners should enjoy the same standards of healthcare that are available in the community, and should have access to necessary health-care services free of charge without discrimination on the grounds of their legal status.” These rights are also protected under the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, to which Ethiopia is a party.