ETHIOPIA: Concerns over the Safety of Mr. Andargachew Tsige

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July 9, 2014

URGENT ACTION
After two weeks of denial, the Ethiopian Government has official admitted that It has Mr. Andargachew Tsige in Its custody, following Mr. Andargachew’s appearance on the government-controlled Ethiopian Television yesterday. Although it is a partial relief that Mr. Andargachew’s overall whereabouts is now known, the Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) still has deep concern regarding the safety of the Ethiopian political activist Mr. AndargachewTsige, especially given the unbelievable conspiracy displayed around his extra-judicial arrest and deportation by a foreign country that has no connection to the political allegations filed against Mr. Andargachew. Mr. Andargachew Tsige, General Secretary of Ginbot Sebat Ethiopian opposition political party, was reportedly arrested by Yemeni security agents on the 24^th June, 2014 at the El Rahaba Airport in Sana’a, Yemen while on a transit flight from UK to Eritrea.
Mr. Andargachew has been tried in absentia and sentenced to death in 2009 on charges of alleged coup d’état along with other members of his Ginbot Sebat Party. Although the involvement of the Government of Yemen is unusual, it is no surprise that such high profile political leaders as Mr. Andargachew Tsige are arrested in neighboring Horn of African countries and handed over to the Government of Ethiopia. Given Ethiopian Government’s negative track records of mistreating detained members and supporters of opposition political organizations in attempts to coerce them into false confessions, there is a high probability that Mr. Andargachew would be subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatments.
Under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1465 U.N.T.S. 185) to which Yemen acceded in 1991, the Yemeni Government is under obligation not to return a person to a place where they face torture or other types of ill-treatment. Article 3 of the Convention against Torture provides that: No state party shall expel, return (“refouler”) or extradite a person to another state where there are substantial grounds to believe that they would be in danger of being subjected to torture.
For the purpose of determining whether there are such grounds, the competent authorities shall take into account all relevant considerations including, where applicable, the existence in the state concerned of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights.
HRLHA requests that the Ethiopian Government in particular ensure the safety and well-being of Mr. Andargachew and that he is allowed access to a legal representative and visitations by family members as well as friends. Also, HRLHA calls upon the Ethiopian Government to nullify all the sentences imposed on Mr. Andargachew in absentia, and facilitate a fair and free retrial that meets both local and international judicial standards and that allows Mr. Andargachew to defend himself against the charge/charges.
• Please direct your concerns to:
His Excellency, Mr. Haila Mariam Dessalegn,
Prime Minister of Ethiopia
P.O.Box – 1031 Addis Ababa
Telephone – +251 155 20 44; +251 111 32 41
Fax – +251 155 20 30 , +251 15520
• Office of Oromiya National Regional State President Office 
Telephone – 0115510455
• Office of the Ministry  of Justice of Ethiopia
PO Box 1370, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Fax: +251 11 5517775;
+251 11 5520874
Email: ministry-justice@telecom.net.et
• UNESCO Headquarters Paris.
7, place de Fontenoy 75352 Paris 07 SP France
1, rue Miollis 75732 Paris Cedex 15 France
General phone: +33 (0)1 45 68 10 00
www.unesco.org
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)-
Africa Department
7 place Fontenoy,75352
Paris 07 SP
France
General phone: +33 (0)1 45 68 10 00
Website: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/africa-department/
• UNESCO AFRICA RIGIONAL OFFICE
MR.JOSEPH NGU
Director
• UNESCO Office in Abuja
Mail: j.ngu(at)unesco.org
Tel: +251 11 5445284
Fax: +251 11 5514936
• Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Fax: + 41 22 917 9022 (particularly for urgent matters) E-mail: tb-petitions@ohchr.org this e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Office of the UNHCR
Telephone: 41 22 739 8111
Fax: 41 22 739 7377
Po Box: 2500
Geneva, Switzerland.
• African Commission on Human and Peoples‘ Rights (ACHPR)
48 Kairaba Avenue, P.O.Box 673, Banjul, The Gambia.
Tel: (220) 4392 962 , 4372070, 4377721 – 23
Fax: (220) 4390 764
E-mail: achpr@achpr.org
• Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights>/strong>
Council of Europe
F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, FRANCE
+ 33 (0)3 88 41 34 21
+ 33 (0)3 90 21 50 53
• U.S. Department of State
Laura Hruby
Ethiopia Desk Officer
U.S. State Department
Email: HrubyLP@state.gov
Tel: (202) 647-6473
• Amnesty International – London
Claire Beston
Email: Claire.Beston@amnesty.org
• Human Rights Watch
Felix Hor
Email: hornef@hrw.org