ESAT News (December 5, 2016) The European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights on Tuesday urged the Ethiopian regime to make public any charges against Dr. Merara Gudina. Dr. Gudina, who is chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress, was arrested last week upon his return from Europe. Dr. Gudina was in Brussels where he testified at the European Parliament on the ...

ESAT News (December 6, 2016) The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it only carries out the repatriation of Ethiopians stranded in war torn Yemen on voluntary basis. “All return assistance provided by IOM to these stranded Ethiopians was on a voluntary basis only, as part of its Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) program. IOM prioritizes the needs of migrants and ...

ESAT News (December 5, 2016) Prisoners that survived the deadly fire at the federal Qilinto prison in September said they were being tortured and abused by prison officials. The 37 prisoners who were brought to court for allegedly starting the fire at the maximum security Qilinto prison said they were made to strip off their clothes and beaten brutally.    ...

ESAT News (December 5, 2016) Drought exacerbated by El Niño, combined with extensive flooding, disease outbreaks and the disruption of basic public services, continue to have a negative impact on the lives and livelihoods of 9.7 million Ethiopians, according to ReliefWeb, a humanitarian information source and a specialized digital service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ...

ESAT News (December 5, 2016) An Ethiopian member of the Israeli Knesset  said on Monday that there is discrimination against the black jews in the country. Pnina Tamano-Shata, the first Ethiopian Israeli woman to be elected as member of the Knesset, was speaking at a hearing on the illegal practice of circumcision on babies from low-income families from Ethiopia and ...

ESAT News (December 5, 2016) The Ethiopian government has accepted a request by South Sudan government to shut down all offices belonging to its armed opposition faction, the Sudan People’s liberation Movement In Opposition (SPLM-IO), loyal to ex-first vice president-turned rebel leader, Riek Machar in Addis Ababa, according to a report filed by the Sudan Tribune. “Our relations with the ...

ESAT News (December 2, 2016) The United States says the Ethiopian regime is using the martial law it declared in October to silence dissent. Deputy spokesperson for the United States Department of State Mark Toner said on Thursday that the arrest of Dr. Merara Gudina, Chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress, was “yet another example of increasing restrictions on independent ...

ESAT News (December 2, 2016) Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana has been named the female World Athlete of the Year at the IAAF Athletics Awards 2016, held at Sporting Monte Carlo on Friday (2). Jamaica’s Usain Bolt was named male athlete of the year. The International Association of Athletics Federations said in a release that Ayana had a record-breaking year. After recording ...

ESAT News (December 2, 2016) Chief warden of the Gondar prison has been jailed for a week now and his legal recourse is in limbo, according ESAT’s sources. Sources say operatives of the TPLF put inspector Lijalem Meseret behind bars in Gondar for refusing to chain and handcuff  Colonel Demeke Zewdu he appeared before a court. The Colonel is a ...

ESAT News (December 2, 2016) The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warns that new drought is imminent in the southeastern regions of Ethiopia. “The very poor performance of the October to December rains sent shockwaves throughout southern and southeastern pastoral areas of Southern People’s Regional State (SNNPR), Oromia and Somali Regions and led to widespread scarcity of pasture and ...