OLLAA has received a verified report of the enforced disappearance of Mr. Boruu Guyyoo and Darajjee Birhaanuu from Miyo police station of Borana zone. The report alleged that the two were in police custody for an extended period without any charges when in the wee hours of 19th July, they were taken from the prison forcefully to an undisclosed location.
According to a close family member who contacted the ,OLLAA, families of the above missing individuals have been making every effort to relocate their missing family member, but so far unsuccessful. The two missing individuals were last seen in police custody for two months on an allegation of standing anti-government protest in Iddi town.
Enforced disappearances are defined under international human rights law as the arrest or detention of a person by state officials or their agents, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the arrest or reveal the person’s whereabouts. Forcibly disappeared people are outside the protection of the law, making them more vulnerable to torture, extrajudicial execution, and other abuses.
Forcibly disappearing individuals are denied access to lawyers, undermining their right to a fair trial. In addition to the forcibly disappearing individuals, families may face severe mental suffering due to lost families. In Oromia,such situations are exacerbated due to detainees completely relying on families and relatives to provide them with food and clothes where the government is unable or refused to provide essentials granted by the international community.
OLLAA argues Ethiopian authorities in Oromia comply with international legal prohibitions against arbitrary deprivation of liberty and enforced disappearances. As an urgent matter, they should provide families with information about their loved ones, release those wrongfully detained, and transfer civilians held in military custody to civilian control.