Ethiopia’s Political Malaise and Mass Arrest Amidst the CoronaVirus (COVID-19) Pandemic: Human Rights Perspectives

Aug 18th, 2020 – Ethiopia has been a member of the United Nations (UN) since its establishment in 1945. The World Health Organization (WHO), a specialized agency of the UN responsible for international public health, is at the frontline in the fight against the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As a member state, Ethiopia agreed to ratify, adopt, domesticate and implement the policies, proceedings and regulations passed by these international institutions. The global spread of the virus has overwhelmed health systems and caused widespread social and economic disruption. 

WHO published a set of documents to help guide a public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic at global, national and sub-national levels since the outbreak of the disease. This includes the technical guidance on preparing for and responding to COVID-19, Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP), practical guidance and a series of strategy updates in line with the Global Humanitarian Response Plan. 

One of the global strategic objectives set by WHO is controlling sporadic cases and clusters and preventing community transmission by rapidly finding and isolating all cases, providing them with appropriate care, and tracing, quarantining, and supporting all contacts. WHO also recommended states to suppress community transmission through context-appropriate infection prevention and control measures, population level physical distancing measures, and appropriate and proportionate restrictions on non-essential domestic and international travel. 

Even with the proactive implementation of comprehensive public health measures, transmission of COVID-19 rapidly became established in Ethiopia, with explosive outbreaks that continue growing at an exponential rate. In Ethiopia, in which community transmission has become established, authorities are expected to adopt and adapt population-level distancing measures and movement restrictions in addition to other public health and health system measures to reduce exposure and suppress transmission, including personal measures that reduce the risk of person-to person transmission, such as physical distancing. 

On April 8, Ethiopia’s Council of Ministers declared a national state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decree came days after the postponement of the August elections over virus-related concerns, and in the wake of separate public safety measures issued as evidence of the virus mounted, including limits on public gatherings, school closures, and orders for some government employees to work from home. However, in a country with a population of more than 110 million, only half a million people have been tested. As of the 15th of August  2020, government reports indicate that about 589,694 tests have found 28,894 people infected with the coronavirus, with 509 deaths documented to date. On August 15th alone, 1652 people were counted infected with the virus, while 17 lost their lives. 

Mass Arrest and COVID-19 in Ethiopia  

The state of emergency in Ethiopia is meant to assign limitless power to the executive body along with security forces which lead to abuse of power. Previous states of emergency in 2016 and 2018 were declared due to political crisis, and routinely abused by Ethiopian authorities, resulting in mass arrests, widespread torture, and the closure of critical media and electronic communications. The current state of emergency was declared due to a health crisis. However, all state of emergencies produced the same result, i.e abuse of power and gross human rights infringements. 

Practically, instead of containing the spread of COVID-19, the Ethiopian government is violating the guidelines provided by WHO and engaging in what seems to be “conscious” contribution to the spread of the disease. 

Following the assassination of Hachalu Hundessa, a popular Oromo singer and human rights activist, mass arrest in different parts of the Oromia region have been increasing rapidly. Leaders of opposition political parties such as OLF, OFC, and prominent government critics are among the detained. Federal and Oromia regional police authorities confirmed that at least 280 people were killed and more than 1,000 people wounded due to the unrest, which erupted following the killing of Hachalu Hundessa. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and Human Rights Watch confirmed that around 9,000 people have been arrested since the killing of Hachalu Hundessa, many of whom remain in incommunicado detention with their whereabouts unknown. Getachew Balcha, a regional government spokesman, confirmed 7,126 people had been arrested in the Oromia region alone as of August 2020. In Ethiopia, there are only few prison facilities known to the public. More than half of the total detainees in the country are kept in military camps, and/or institutions such as schools and health centers in rural areas, underground buildings, etc. turned into prisons. Detainees held in such places are always at risk of being tortured or even killed any time. What is more worrisome is that detainees have been kept at different sites where they face increased risks of contracting COVID-19 in detention. In some cases, prisoners are being confined in small prison cells, which increase their vulnerability and rapid transmission of the virus. 

Prisoners face higher vulnerabilities as the spread of the virus can expand rapidly due to the usually high concentration of persons deprived of their liberty in confined spaces and to the restricted access to hygiene and health care in some contexts. International standards highlight that states should ensure that persons in detention have access to the same standard of health care as is available in the community. According to interim guidance on COVID-19 published by OCHA and WHO, jointly focusing on persons deprived of their liberty and maintaining health in detention centers is in the interest of the persons deprived of their liberty as well as of the staff of the facility and the community. The state has the obligation, according to international human rights law, to ensure the health care of people in places of detention. If the risks related to the virus in places of detention are not addressed, the outbreak can also widen spread to the general public.

In Ethiopia, new prisoners join the previously detained individuals in different detention centers without pre-trial tests for COVID-19. Evidence shows that due to the recent mass arrests in the Oromia region, every prison center is overcrowded, and many detainees are being confined in a small cell. Artist Marsi Aboma was recently detained in Burayu town and released after three weeks. He asserted that there is no conducive environment for protection against COVID-19 and any other communicable diseases in prison centers.  He told BBC Afaan Oromoo about his experience of detention as follows:

“I was detained at Burayu town police station and there is no protective mechanism against COVID-19. The day I was arrested I just joined the previously detained individuals without prior COVID-19 test. Every night the security forces capture and add up to 15 individuals to our cell. Since the prison cell is overcrowded with detainees, it is impossible to think of protective measures such as physical distancing. During the night, since there is not enough space to sleep, detainees sleep very closely to each other. The only option we had was to pray to God.”

Another person who was released from Adama police station prison center and who requested his name to be kept confidential confirmed that no detainees are using hand sanitizer and face masks in the prison center. He said, “The prison cell is too small, while the number of people arrested has been increasing on a daily basis.”

In addition, it was reported by Oromia regional government authorities that 66 detainees were infected with the virus from a single prison center found in Gindhir, Bale zone of Oromia region. 

The spread of COVID-19 in towns such as Adama and Bote where there have been mass arrests is creating tension, said Mr. Daraje Abdana, deputy of the Oromia health bureau. He added, 

“Since prison centers are a place where large numbers of people live in a small compound, it creates conducive environment for the transmission of the virus from person to person easily and rapidly. Now, many people are infected with the virus in several prison centers found in the region. In East Shewa zone prison centers alone, more than 100 people tested positive recently”.

Dejene Tafa, a senior Oromo Federalist Congress member, reportedly tested positive for the virus. Tegene Regassa, spokesman for Ethiopia’s health ministry, confirmed Dejene had been hospitalized for COVID-19 but said he had recovered. Dejene had already spent two years in prison without charge for taking part in the Oromo protests that collapsed the previous EPRDF regime.

On August 12th 2020, it was reported that five prisoners filed along with Jawar Mohammed did not appear before the court. Police said that they were infected with COVID-19 pandemic and on therapy at isolated places. It has been 45 days since Jawar Mohammed and co were arrested. As explained by WHO and health practitioners, a person can develop a symptom within 14 days once infected with the virus. Based on this scientific explanation, it can be concluded that these four prisoners are infected in prison centers, not in the community. 

A detained Kenyan journalist Yassin Juma also tested positive for COVID-19. Juma was arrested along with two Ethiopian journalists while covering protests that erupted after the killing of Hachalu Hundessa. On the 5th of August 2020, the court ordered his release on bail after police officers failed to produce evidence of any crimes, but federal police ignored a bail order to release the journalist. On August 11th, federal police transferred Yassin to Addis Ababa police custody. Police authorities sought to stretch or ignore legal requirements to prolong the suspect’s detentions beyond what was justified by law, and finally he was infected with COVID-19 in custody. Juma’s lawyer, Tuli Bayisa said that authorities are still holding him, despite an Ethiopian court last week ordering his release on bail. 

In its recent press release, Human Rights Watch wrote its observation about the risk of fast transmission of the virus in prison centers as follows: “At a time when international and global health experts are urging governments to reduce overcrowding in jails to tackle Covid-19, practices that lengthen the pre-trial period are particularly problematic and ignore Ethiopia’s own commitments.” In a separate statement on August 7th, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, a government body, also warned that detainees could be exposed to COVID-19 in overcrowded prisons especially in the Oromia region, which surrounds the capital Addis Ababa.

By keeping prisoners in unsafe prison centers and exposing them to the deadly disease of COVID-19, the Ethiopian government is violating basic human rights such as the right to health and the right to life. Under the international law, states have a general obligation to guarantee the enjoyment of the rights of all persons under their jurisdiction, including their prison populations: prison overcrowding is never acceptable and constitutes a violation of several international obligations, including the protection of the right to physical and mental integrity. In the context of a pandemic such as COVID-19, where the risk of contagion endangers the health and life of the population, states have a greater duty to prevent violations of the rights of persons deprived of their liberty, avoiding overcrowding and ensuring hygiene and sanitation in prisons and other detention centers, as indicated by various United Nations Special Procedures and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Recommendations

When fresh detainees join the prison, there is a high possibility to import the virus from the outside community and transmit it to other prisoners. In such circumstances, authorities should take the responsibility to test every newly arrested individual before adding them to the insiders. The infected prisoners should be identified as quickly as possible and take treatments in a separate room. 

The Ethiopian government should take immediate steps to reduce prison overcrowding, as well as ensure compliance with international standards including measures to respect WHO guidance on social distancing and other health measures. Political prisoners, persons with underlying health conditions, and those detained for offences not recognized under international law, should be released. Those who are arbitrarily detained should be immediately released as the prohibition of arbitrary detention is a non-derogable norm and their continued detention under the current public health emergency might also severely impact their right to health and their right to life. 

For those prisoners convicted of serious crimes mentioned under international law including crimes against humanity, genocide or war crimes, the government should relocate them to another prison facility where they have safe and healthy detention conditions.