Basia Cummings, The Guardian

A British national kidnapped by Ethiopia and held in jail faces an uncertain future after a court ruled that the Foreign Office did not have to intercede on his behalf.

A high court judge denied an application by Andargachew Tsige’s nine-year-old daughter, Menabe, demanding a judicial review of the UK government’s handling of the case.

Tsige, a prominent opposition activist who had been living in Britain for 35 years,was kidnapped at Sana’a airport in Yemen by Ethiopian security agents in 2014, after having been tried and sentenced to death in absentia.

More than two years later, Tsige remains in prison and the UK government has made no public call for his release. The government has merely lobbied for Tsige to get a fair trial and access to a proper defence team. But lawyers acting for Menabe Tsige argued that this approach had proven useless.

Reacting to the ruling on Wednesday, Yemi Hailemariam, Tsige’s partner and the mother of his two children, said: “The judge could clearly see the humanity in the case, but assumed the Foreign and Commonwealth Office must be doing more than just calling for ‘due process’. But there is no evidence for this.

“I’m devastated. Nothing has changed for him. He will remain there. It’s very sad.”

In documents submitted to the court, Menabe’s lawyers stressed the real risks Tsige faced if the government refused to change its approach: “Not least, that [he] will be executed, but even if he is not killed, that he will spend the rest of his life imprisoned.”

The former foreign secretary, Phillip Hammond, argued that calling for Tsige’s released would be “counterproductive, and could affect the government’s ability to progress the case”. In an open letter published last week, the new foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, maintained this position, and reiterated that “Britain does not interfere in the legal systems of other countries by challenging convictions.”

Tsige’s release has been called for by the UN, members of US congress, the European parliament, and various British MPs, as international concern mounts over rising repression in Ethiopia.

Tsige is secretary general of an exiled Ethiopian opposition movement, Ginbot 7. He fled the country in the 1970s, after his brother was murdered, and settled in the UK in 1979. The Ethiopian government has accused him of “terrorism”. Hailemariam and her children have received no written assurances that the government will not uphold the death penalty and execute Tsige.

Maya Foa, head of the death penalty team at Reprieve, said in other cases of British nationals kidnapped or detained abroad, most recently in the arrest of Lee Bo, a bookseller living in Hong Kong who was seized by Chinese authorities, the government did release statements calling for his release.

She added that international pressure has proven successful in prompting the release of political prisoners in Ethiopia. In July last year, the charges against a group of young journalists, known as the Zone9 bloggers, were dropped and they were released from the infamous Kality prison, where Tsige is also being held, ahead of a state visit by President Obama. Press freedom observers speculated that it was the presence of such a high-profile politician that had forced the government to change its position.

Speaking after the ruling, Foa said: “Over two years into this British father’s ordeal, it’s deeply concerning that the Foreign Office has not asked for his release – and today’s ruling comes as another blow to his desperate family. One thing remains clear – the FCO urgently needs to change its strategy, so that Andy can return to his family in London.”

Andy Tsege: High Court rejects 9-year-old’s plea for UK to bring back British father kidnapped by Ethiopia
independent.co.uk

Adam Withnall
The High Court has rejected the case of a nine-year-old British girl demanding Theresa May’s government do more to help her father, who has been kidnapped by the Ethiopian authorities and now faces an impending death sentence.

British officials have failed to intervene in the case of Andargachew Tsege, known as Andy, a father of three from London who was granted political asylum in the UK in 1979 and has lived in Britain ever since. He was abducted in June 2014 while on route to visit Eritrea, and in July 2015 moved to the infamous Kality prison outside Addis Abiba, dupped “Ethiopia’s gulag”.

Lawyers for Andy’s daughter, Menabe Andargachew, 9, began judicial review proceedings earlier this year against the Foreign Office (FCO) over ministers’ handling of the case.

But according to the rights group Reprieve which has been assisting Andy’s family, at a hearing on Wednesday afternoon High Court judges ruled in the government’s favour.

Maya Foa, director of the death of penalty team at Reprieve, told The Independent: “Andy Tsege is the victim of a series of terrible abuses at the hands of the Ethiopian government – from kidnapping to rendition and illegal detention under an in absentia death sentence.

“Over two years into this British father’s ordeal, it’s deeply concerning that the Foreign Office has not asked for his release – and today’s ruling comes as another blow to his desperate family. One thing remains clear – the FCO urgently needs to change its strategy, so that Andy can return to his family in London.”

A political dissident in his time in Ethiopia, Andy is accused by the Ethiopian authorities of working to bring down the government and was convicted of terrorism offences in absentia in 2009, a crime punishable by death.
Internal FCO documents, seen by Reprieve, show British officials have privately described Andy’s treatment by the Ethiopian authorities as “completely unacceptable”.

Of the terror charges, they said they “have not been shown any evidence [against Andy] that would stand up in a UK court”.

US diplomats who attended the in absentia death sentence said it was “lacking in basic elements of due process” and a form of “political retaliation”.

But despite successful interventions in other cases involved British citizens detained abroad, the FCO has insisted it will not call for Andy’s release.

Last week, the UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson published an open letter in response to the large number of people contacting the Foreign Office about Andy’s case.

He said Britain would “continue to press the Ethiopian government as necessary to ensure Andy has access to the promised legal representation”. He refused to call for Mr Tsege’s release, claiming that “Britain does not interfere in the legal systems of other countries by challenging convictions.”

Many Ethiopian singers have cancelled their concerts to welcome in Ethiopia’s New Year, which falls this year on 11 September.

Ethiopians will be ushering in 2009 on Sunday as their calendar is more than seven years out of sync with the one used in much of the rest of the world.

But some singers are planning to put a dampener on the celebrations that take place on New Year’s Eve.

They say it would not be good to celebrate when people are mourning those who have died in recent protests.

At least 17 singers have backed out of gigs to be held in various venues in the capital, Addis Ababa, and other cities.

Oromo singer Abush Zeleke was among those who announced their decision on their official Facebook page.

And on Twitter have reacted to the news:
Report

Some Ethiopian musicians who live abroad are following suit.

US-based singer, Abby Lakew, announced she had cancelled all her shows in Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago and Las Vegas:

I do not want to perform on any stage as of right now while my people are dying!!!

I will pray for peace and I believe in one love!!! All people should be treated equally, with the same rights, dignity and human rights.”

There has been an unprecedented wave of protests in Ethiopia in recent months.

Demonstrations began in the Oromia region last November and have spread elsewhere.

And over the weekend at least 23 inmates died in a fire at a prison where anti-government protesters were reportedly being held.

Mahlet Fasil, Addis Standard

In a disturbing e-mail message received by Addis Standard, an eyewitness who said he was on guard the morning of Saturday Sep 3, says that armed prison guards were indiscriminately shooting at prisoners” most of whom were running “frantically to extinguish the fire” that broke at Ethiopia’s notorious prison ward known as Qilinto, in Aqaqi, on the outskirts south of the capital.

The government has not released the extent of the fire, not the cause of it, but several social media accounts allege the death toll reaching above 20.

Until this morning families of prisoners who want to know the safety of their loved ones are not allowed to pass the Tirunesh Beijing Hospital, located at about three km before the prison.   Some families said the prison administration told them information on the safety and whereabouts of the prisoners will only be available on Wednesday this week.

In the e-mail, the person who also attached his work ID but said he wishes to remain anonymous wrote many prisoners were “kept at gun point” from approaching the area where the fire was destroying parts of the prison in the “southern end of the ward.” “I have seen about five prisoners gunned down in the spot by armed security guards from two different towers during the first 20 minutes only,” the email said. It added: “unarmed guards at the gate, including myself, were told by the prison admiration to instruct family members who were already at the gate and who came to visit their loved ones to return back.”

The maximum security prison is administered by the Addis Abeba Prison administration but since Saturday morning the “federal army has taken over the security and most of the prison guards, including myself, are not allowed inside since then.”

The fire broke at around 8:10 AM in the morning and lasted a good “two hours” before the fire brigade from the Addis Abeba Fire and Emergency Prevention and Rescue Agency arrived at the scene.  The state-affiliated news portal FBC reported that three firefighters were treated at a hospital for smoke related breathing problems while it maintained only one person was killed in the accident.

However, in the email received by Addis Standard, the security guard revealed that he has helped “18 bodies being taken out of the prison in the late afternoon. As far as I know none of the dead were due to the fire. They all died of gunshot wounds.”

Abusive prison

Qilinto is known for the harsh treatment of its prisoners, many of who are prisoners of conscious including the prominent opposition leader Bekele Gerba, secretary general of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), and 21 others with him facing charges of terrorism.  It is also where Yonatan Tesfaye, the young senior opposition Blue Party member, and prominent rights activist is held.

Recently Bekele Gerba and others with him were mobilizing activists from their cell by sending letters which were secretly smuggled out of the maximum security prison. One such letter called for peaceful resistance as part of the ongoing #AmharaProtests and #OromoProtests and asked supporters of the protests to shave their heads and wear black, to which supporters responded in numbers.

Three days after the tragic incident exact figures of causalities (both death and injuries, as well as property damages) are still hard to come by. The prison itself is not accessible to anyone and is being guarded by heavily armed federal police officers who are also conducting rigorous searching of residents living nearby.

Eyewitnesses say the remaining prisoners were taken on Saturday afternoon to Ziway prison, located some 200km south of the capital. However, due to the inaccessibility of the prison and unavailability of official information, Addis Standard is unable to verify both the e-mailed information and other eyewitness accounts.

Leaders of the ruling EPRDF, who have been foolhardy in taking the public for granted, are now in a frantic mood, bidding for time to fix what is broken in their governance, claims gossip. A meeting of their executive committee, held a few weeks ago, took place in the same old mindset of complacency, says gossip. It displeased the veteran Revolutionary Democrats as much as it angered the mid-rank cadres, disclosed gossip.

Thus, a successive extraordinary meeting of the Council was held two weeks later. It was extraordinary not only because of its urgency, but also because veteran leaders of the EPRDF took part. There was also the notable absence of Azeb Mesfin, the widow of Meles Zenawi and political bureau member of the TPLF, gossip reveals.

This meeting was spared from falling into the same trap of self-righteousness due to Sulieman Dedefo, an OPDO veteran and former Ambassador to Djibouti, claims gossip. He spoke the truth on the spoils of unchecked power for 45 minutes, uninterrupted, according to gossip. Hell broke loose after that, with almost every issue of contention and discontent addressed in hash tones, gossip disclosed. Abiy Ahmed, a young and raising politician with the OPDO, was another forcefully vocal critic from within, claims gossip.

From unfair ethnic representations in federal agencies – including the military – to the role of the MetEC in the economy, and the security apparatus accused of becoming an instrument of repression. The troubling extent of corruption and nepotism amongst themselves was also brought up, with those present challenged to raise their hands if they had no overseas bank accounts or wives not in business and privileged. The overbearing dominance of the TPLF to the ineptness of the senior leaders of the EPRDFites, which has led to public uproar, were further issues raised, gossip disclosed. The conclusion was that a self-serving and corrupt leadership is exercising state capture for self-enrichment, reveals gossip.

Hailemariam Desalegn, second-generation chairman of the EPRDF, took three of the five days, allowing anger and frustration to vent out, claims gossip. When he spoke, he did in a manner that was grating, gossip disclosed. Almost no one was spared from his wrath; not even his favourite spin-doctor, Getachew Reda, a TPLFite who was harshly criticised for allowing the national broadcaster to degenerate on his watch, gossip disclosed.

Hailemariam was mad at Abadula Gemeda, an OPDO veteran and speaker of Parliament, for appeasing rent-seekers over a coffee table; and Demeke Mekonnen, chairman of ANDM, for his wishy-washy character, reveals gossip. Abay Tsehaye, a TPLF veteran, also tasted the fury indirectly, held accountable for the hundreds of millions of dollars that went down the drain in the sugar estate projects, according to gossip. Hailemariam was upset that the pledge his administration made to the public that the nation would begin exporting sugar a year ago has not been respected, with installations of the plants yet to be completed,

He was, however, also the subject of criticism by a group of young and fearless cadres from the ANDM and the TPLF, claims gossip. They blamed him for creating a kitchen cabinet, surrounded by palace-preferred elite politicians with the authority to command huge public resources, thus undermining the power of the legally mandated cabinet, gossip disclosed. This was made in reference to people like Brehane G. Kirstos, a TPLFite and close confidant of the late Meles; and Arkebe Oqubay (PhD), a veteran TPLFite in charge of the industrial parks development.

Despite the heat, Hailemariam criticised Arkebe for acting like a Prime Minister, gossip disclosed. There was a sour feeling developed from an incident where Arkebe made a political error of judgment in outshining his boss during the inauguration of the Hawassa Industrial Park, where he discussed policy matters for no less than 47 minutes. Hailemariam spoke for close to 10 minutes, in English, adding notes to what Arkebe had to say, gossip recalls.

The question among many in the gossip corridors now is – “what will Hailemariam do after all this venting of frustrations?” He will reshuffle his cabinet come November 2016, when Parliament opens, gossip anticipates. He has already started it, sacking Mekuria Haile, Minister of Urban Development & Housing. Interestingly, no less than two-thirds of Ministers in his current cabinet may be relieved off of their positions, perhaps moved over to the EPRDF secretariat; and he may be determined to fill the next cabinet with competent technocrats, even if they are not members of the ruling party, gossip anticipates.

Tamerat Hailu editor of Kumnenger Magazine posted the news on his facebook page.
We will update this news as we get new information.
ዛሬ ብሮድካስት ባለስልጣን በጠራው የሚዲያዎች ስብሰባ ላይ
‹ቃና ቴሌቪዥን የኢቲቪን ዜና በየዕለቱ ለማስተላለፍ ተስማምቷል››

By Dickens Olewe and Damian Zane

In a video posted on the Facebook page of an Oromo activist a small group of protesters can be seen entering a room in what appears to be the Ethiopian embassy in London.

At one point they turn a portrait of the late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi upside down and somebody kicks it.

Speaking in Amharic, they can be heard advising each other that they should not damage it.

Then someone takes out the old Ethiopia flag and tries to drape it over the current one.

“This is illegal,” an embassy official is heard saying.

A protester responds: “This is not illegal. It is an Ethiopian flag. We won’t damage anything. People are dying for this flag.”

“We know the government flag and we know the Ethiopian flag,” another protester says.

“You burn our compatriots like a torch. We came here to demand their blood,” a third one is heard saying.

The embassy official responds by saying: “You can provide your requests but it should not be like this. It should be peaceful.”

The Ethiopian government is currently facing protest movements in the Amhara and Oromo regions.

BBC Live reporting

We’ve posted about a protest at Ethiopia’s embassy in London, where demonstrators got inside and kicked a portrait of former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

It seems that this may have been coordinated with another protest in Sweden’s capital, Stockholm.

Esat, an Ethiopian TV channel based outside the country, has posted images of protesters entering the embassythere.

They can be heard shouting: “You are Nazis.”

The film also includes pictures from the London protest which shows police officers talking to the protesters inside the Embassy.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author