http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/22/un-investigates-briton-death-row-ethiopia-andargachew-tsige
UN investigates Briton on death row in Ethiopia
Special rapporteur on torture asks UK and Ethiopian governments about
detention of Andargachew Tsige amid claims of ill-treatment
The detention of a British citizen held on death row in Ethiopia for
almost a year is being investigated by the United Nations official
responsible for preventing torture.
Andargachew Tsige was arrested last June while in transit through
Yemen’s main airport and forcibly removed to Addis Ababa. He is the
leader of an opposition party and had been condemned to death several
years earlier in his absence.
UK stands accused over extradition of Ethiopian opposition leader
Andargachew Tsige, a British national, may face death penalty after
extradition from Yemen
Read more
Juan Mendez, the UN special rapporteur on torture, has written to the
Ethiopian and UK governments saying he is investigating the treatment
of Tsige. There are claims Tsige is being deprived of sleep and held
in isolation.
His partner, Yemi Hailemariam, also a British national, who lives in
London with their three children, said she had only spoken to him once
by telephone since his abduction. “He’s in prison but we have no idea
where he is being held,” she said. “He said he was OK but I’m sure the
call was being listened to.
“He had been in Dubai and was flying on to Eritrea when the plane
stopped over in Yemen. He hadn’t even been through immigration. We
think Yemeni security took him and handed him over to the Ethiopians.
“They say there was an extradition agreement but it was so quick there
was no time for any semblance of a legal hearing. Yemen and Ethiopia
had close relations then. The [Ethiopian] government have put him on
television three times in heavily edited interviews, saying he was
revealing secrets
“He has been kept under artificial light 24 hours a day and no one
[other than the UK ambassador] has had access to him. I feel angry
with the Foreign Office. They know they could do more. They have
political leverage they could use but have not done so.”
Tsige, 60, known as Andy, had previously been secretary general of
Ginbot 7, a political opposition party that called for democracy, free
elections and civil rights. He first came to the UK in 1979. The
Ethiopian government has accused him of being a terrorist. In 2009, he
was tried with others in his absence and sentenced to death.
No effort was made to extradite him to face the court. A US embassy
cable, released through WikiLeaks, described the trial as “lacking in
basic elements of due process”.
“[Andy] is a politician, not a terrorist,” said Hailemariam. “It’s
just the Ethiopian government that thinks it does not need to make any
space for the opposition. A delegation of British MPs, including
Jeremy Corbyn, were stopped from travelling to Ethiopia in February.
They are hoping to try again.”
Hailemariam’s dissatisfaction with the UK government’s response
follows the release of internal Foreign Office memorandums earlier
this year that appeared to show official reluctance to apply pressure
on Ethiopia to obtain Tsige’s release.
The UK prime minister, David Cameron, has, however, written a letter
to his Ethiopian counterpart, Hailemariam Desalegn, raising concerns
about Tsige.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The foreign secretary has raised
this case with the Ethiopian foreign minister on 13 separate
occasions. We will continue to lobby at all levels, conveying our
concern over Andargachew Tsige being detained without regular consular
visits and access to a lawyer.”
Maya Foa, director of Reprieve’s death penalty team said: “Andy Tsige
was illegally kidnapped and rendered to Ethiopia, where he has now
been held in a secret location for nearly a year. The UN special
rapporteur is right to raise concerns about torture – especially given
Ethiopia’s terrible record on human rights, and their denial of any
meaningful consular access.
“It is crucial that the British government now takes stronger action
on this case. The way Andy has been treated is in serious violation of
international law and the most basic principles of justice – the UK
must push for his immediate release.”
Tsige’s lawyer, the barrister Ben Cooper of Doughty Street chambers,
said: “[He] was abducted at an international airport, hooded and
rendered to Ethiopia, where he has been held incommunicado under a
death sentence that was passed unlawfully in his absence. He remains
in isolation nearly a year later with only occasional access to the
open air.
“His detention violates all minimum standards of treatment. We ask the
Foreign Office to follow the lead of the UN special rapporteur on
torture to demand an immediate end to Mr Tsege’s torture by seeking
his return home to his family in England. This is a clear case of
kidnap and should be treated as such.”
Elections are taking place in Ethiopia this weekend. Tsige’s family
hopes the government will relax restrictions on the opposition once
voting is over.
In a lengthy statement, the Ethiopian embassy said that Ginbot 7 had
been proscribed a terrorist organisation by the country’s parliament.
Tsige, as general secretary, it added, was charged with “conspiring to
perpetrate terror and violence in Ethiopia by planning, training,
financing, and organising terrorist recruits in Eritrea” and found
guilty of “conspiring and working with and under Ginbot 7, to
overthrow the legitimate government of Ethiopia through terrorist
acts”.
Following conviction and sentence, the embassy continued, the
government sent a formal request of assistance to those states with
which Ethiopia has an extradition treaty, requesting them to transfer
all sentenced individuals in the event of their presence on their
territory.
“It was on the basis of this request, and the existing extradition
treaty with the Republic of Yemen, that [he] was extradited to
Ethiopia. Accordingly, [he] is currently in detention at the federal
prison,” it said.
The statement added: “Mr Tsige was serving as a Trojan horse,
assisting the Eritrean government’s repeated and ongoing attempts to
wreak havoc and instability in the sub-region. Mr Tsige is
well-treated and has received visits from the British ambassador to
Ethiopia. He has also spoken to his family on the phone.”
Received on Fri May 22 2015 - 21:40:46 EDT