OLLAA’s staff recently spoke with staff members of the OLF regarding Dr. Gada Oljira, an OLF leader who has been arbitrarily detained since December 2020.
Dr. Gada Oljira was born in Kiramu district East Wollega zone of Oromia. He is a veterinary doctor by training, and also holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration. Throughout his career, Dr. Gada has taught at several colleges in Nekemte City, East Welega zone, in Oromia, including at the prestigious Wallaga University. Until the time of his arrest, Dr. Gada lived in Finfine.
It was during the time that he was teaching classes in Nekemte that Dr. Gada was first arrested by the Ethiopian government. Our source reports that during the time he was detained, he was severely beaten. As a result of this mistreatment, he fled the country to Eritrea, where he joined the OLF in 2015.
Following the rise of Prime Minister Abiy to power in 2018, and based on the OLF and Ethiopian government’s negotiated agreement, Dr. Gada was able to return to Ethiopia. Unfortunately, he reports that, almost immediately after they arrived in Ethiopia, in September 2018, the Ethiopian government began targeting OLF members and leaders, including by closing many of their offices. This resulted in the exclusion of the OLF political party from the 2021 national elections.
In December 2020, Dr. Gada Oljira and other OLF leaders were arrested by members of the Ethiopian government near their homes in the Asko area of Ethiopia. All those arrested were held without a court warrant, were disappeared for days, and reported being unable to contact family or legal representation.
Our source reports that Dr. Gada was first taken to Burayu First Prison Facilities, but was transferred to Burayu Third Prison after two days. He remained in Burayu Third Prison for a further 23 days, after which, the Burayu district court ordered Dr. Gada’s release on bail. However, instead of following the court order for his release, Ethiopian security forces transferred Dr. Gada to Awash Bishola prison, then Galan prison facilities. Finally, he was returned to Burayu First Prison, where he remains detained to this day, despite his lawyers filing a Habeas Corpus petition and the court having ordered his release and closed the file on his case.
Our source further reports that Dr. Gada is suffering in prison. Since being detained, he has developed Epilepsy due to the physical and mental traumas related to his detention. Dr. Gada is also suffering from permanent injuries to his leg. Unfortunately, despite Dr. Gada’s continued ill health, he has been consistently denied medical attention.
International human rights laws
Ethiopia is a State party to the ICCPR, ACHPR and other international human rights instruments that guarantee his rights to liberty and a fair trial. The right to liberty protects citizens from arbitrary arrest and detentions, which are arrests and detentions that are not in accordance with the procedures established by law. Persons who have been arrested or detained have the right to legal counsel, which begins as soon as they are deprived of their liberty. They also have the right of access to the outside world, including to their family.
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.”
The FDRE Constitution also guarantees these rights. This case presents a clear example of how the principle of rule of law is repeatedly violated by the Ethiopian government, particularly in cases where police refuse to execute court orders.