Military personnel detained, tortured

ESAT News (May 10, 2016)

ESAT’s sources disclosed that several members of the Ethiopian defense forces who have been detained at the East Command Prison and were subjected to beatings and torture.

The sources said the army prisoners have come from various parts of the country. Some of them have reportedly opposed the Tigrayan domination of the army and demanded equitable ethnic representation in the higher echelon of the army.

The sources also said the prison had an underground space where the prisoners undergo beatings and torture.

Almost 90% of Ethiopia’s army generals and high ranking officers are from the ruling Tigray ethnic group. This has been the cause of resentment among the rank and file who witnessed corruption and unbridled embezzlement of the country’s resources by a handful of Tigrayan generals and officers.