OLLAA’s staff has spoken with the Family of Seman Sharif Heydar who passed away after being tortured by members of the Oromia police force.
Seman, 38, was born in East Hararghe Zone, Bedeno District, Dodota mojo Village. He was a civil servant and is the father of six children – four sons and two daughters. He was a distinguished MA graduate in Agriculture. For over a decade, he has worked as a civil servant in the Bedeno District office of agriculture, serving his community at various levels from expert to leadership roles. He is well known for putting the needs of the community above his own.
According to our informant, the ruling party of the Bedeno district has been interrogating him since 2020 because he disagreed with the policies of the government. In 2021, Seman was arrested and sent to Bedeno District prison twice for a total of three months where he was beaten badly by the government security forces. Though they released him on bail they suspended his three months salary without any reason and starved his family.
In the final detention that resulted in his death, the three Oromia police officers took him from the Woreda Administration Office where he was at work and brought him to the Bedeno Police station while beating him on the way. After his imprisonment, they transferred him to a solitary house where they tortured and severely assaulted him. He became severely ill in prison as a result of the torture. Three days later, his wife Manzaraa Mahammad paid a policeman 3,000 Birr to release him. His family immediately brought him to the Bedeno Hospital once he was released from custody, but he passed away before receiving medical care.
In the meantime, his relatives moved his remains to Dire Dawa Dilchora hospital so that a postmortem examination could be performed. His lungs developed water buildup as a result of the beatings, according to the results of the autopsy.
International Law
The duty to protect citizens from violations of human rights, such as the rights to life, liberty, and a fair trial, lies on state parties to international human rights treaties including the UDHR, ICCPR, CAT, and ACHPR. Citizens are protected by the right to liberty from arbitrary detention and arrest, as well as the freedom from torture and other cruel treatment. The country’s Constitution recognised this right as well. In this instance, Seman endured torture that ultimately resulted in his death. It is necessary to hold the Bedeno prison administration and the Ethiopian government accountable as signatories to the aforementioned international human rights conventions.