OLLAA’s staff spoke with Nannessa B. Lama (full name withheld at the request of the victim) regarding the series of rights violations he experienced at the hands of successive Ethiopian governments.
Nannessa B. Lama was born in Yaya Gulalle, in the North Shewa Zone of the Oromia region. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Addis Ababa University and is currently studying for his master’s at Ambo University. Nannessa is a married father of two who works for the Ethiopian federal government.
Nannessa reports that he has been a life-long target of Ethiopian government security forces because he was an Oromo nationalist. Nannessawas imprisoned more than six times in his young life and has been detained in a wide variety of locations, ranging from Yaya Gulale district prison to the notorious Ethiopian detention center known as ‘Meikelawi’, where he faced torture and inhuman treatment. In 2009, Nannessa was among the first of many Oromos who were accused of violating the 2009 Ethiopian Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. Nannessa also reports that he survived two assassination attempts during the EPDRF’s regime, which occurred while he was representing the OFC in an election campaign in Yaya Gulalle, Salale, North Shewa Zone.
In 2018, shortly after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power, Nannessa was arrested and accused of terrorism yet again. After three months of imprisonment, Nannessa was released on bail. Unfortunately, Nannessa reports that this was not the end of the abuses he faced at the hands of the Ethiopian government. In 2022, Nannessa states he was arbitrarily arrested at his workplace in Finfine and taken to Awash 7, a military training center in the Afar Regional state, where he was detained for more than 40 days. This time security forces accused him of supporting the OLA without any evidence. At long last, Nannessa was released from prison on August 18, 2022.
International Human Rights Law
International law protects citizens from arbitrary arrest and detentions, which are arrests and detentions that are not in accordance with the procedures established by law. Detained individuals also have certain rights, including access to their families. Those who have been arrested or detained must be brought promptly before a judge or court so that the judge can rule on the lawfulness of their arrest or detention.
Under international law, States also have the duty to ensure that persons deprived of their liberty are treated with respect for the inherent dignity of the person and are not subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
Nannessa’s case is a very similar experience to that of thousands of Oromos, who often remained arbitrarily detained for lengthy periods of time without due process of law and prisoners are subjected to torture and inhuman treatment. Their rights to fair and public trial continue to be denied. On release, victims seldom receive any compensation for their wrongful treatment, while the Ethiopian government fails to bring the perpetrators to justice. Such actions violate numerous human rights conventions that Ethiopia is a party to, including the ICCPR and ACHPR, alongside Ethiopia’s constitution.