ESAT English News

South Sudanese General arrested in Ethiopia

ESAT News (January 9, 2018) A South Sudanese General was arrested by Ethiopian authorities after he entered Ethiopia illegally, Radio Tamazuj quoted a senior official loyal to Taban Deng as saying. The radio report said David Dang Kong, head of the SPLM-IO office for peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia said today that Brigadier General Mun Gach Thoch was arrested at ...

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Ethiopia: Plans to crackdown on youth movement face backlash

ESAT News (January 9, 2018) The announcement by Ethiopian regime authorities that they would investigate and crackdown on Qero, a network of youth in the country’s restive Oromo region that is behind the anti-TPLF protest for over two years, has drawn backlash from Oromo political leaders and activists. Reports show that the TPLF regime, through its security apparatus that is ...

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Ethiopia: Imprisoned cardiologist says 20 die as authorities refuse to let him treat his patients

ESAT News (January 8, 2018) An Ethiopian born Swedish cardiologist who was jailed in Ethiopia in a politically motivated charge told a court in Addis Ababa that 20 of his patients have died because authorities would not allow him to see his patients. Dr. Fikru Maru had repeatedly said he was willing to treat his patients if authorities would allow ...

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Swedish MPs demand their gov’t to hold Ethiopian regime accountable for human rights violations

ESAT News (January 8, 2018) Two members of the Swedish Parliament said their government should demand and hold the Ethiopian regime accountable for the various human rights violations in the country. Anders Österberg and Maria Andersson Willner both members of the Foreign Affairs Committee said in an opinion published in the Swedish media that “the violations of human rights in ...

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Ethiopia: MP says 10,000 killed as Parliamentary report holds security forces responsible for killings

ESAT News (January 8, 2018) A member of the Ethiopian parliament says over 10,000 people were killed in and around the border regions of Oromo and Somali in a violence which a parliamentary report said was perpetrated by the Somali Region Special Police, local police and militia. Tesfaye Robela was challenging a parliamentary committee that was set up to look ...

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Ethiopia: Judge prevents tortured prisoner at Ma’ekelawi from showing his scars

ESAT News (January 5, 2018) Two days after Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, said Ma’ekelawi detention center was used by the former marxist regime but not his government to torture opponents, a political prisoner asked a court in Addis Ababa today to show scars of torture on his body. But he was prevented by a judge, who sarcastically told the ...

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Ethiopia: Ethnic conflict separate thousands of children from families

ESAT News (January 5, 2018) Some 14,000 children might have been separated from their families in ethnic clashes in Eastern Ethiopia over the past year, UNICEF said on Friday. Ethnic clashes between the Oromo and Somali communities along their border and attack by TPLF army in Eastern Ethiopia in past months have resulted in the death of hundreds of people ...

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Ethiopia: Promise to release political prisoners meaningless without political freedoms, says think tank

ESAT News (January 4, 2018) Ethiopian regime’s promise to release political prisoners & close a notorious jail is meaningless without political freedoms, the Oakland Institute said today. “For years, while donor countries like the US have turned a blind eye, thousands of Ethiopians have languished behind bars simply for speaking up against so-called development policies and related human rights abuses, ...

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Ethiopia: Political prisoners could be released as early as Friday

ESAT News (January 4, 2017) Media close to the regime in Addis Ababa reported that some political prisoners could be released as early as Friday or Saturday. The Reporter newspaper quoted its sources as saying that the office of the President has requested prison administration and the prosecutor general to provide the list of political prisoners. In a surprise move ...

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Ethiopia: Protest continues despite promise to release “some” political prisoners

ESAT News (January 3, 2018) Protests have continued today in a number of towns and villages in the country’s Oromo region despite an announcement by the regime that some political prisoners would be freed. Tensions remained high in West Arsi and West Shewa with protesters denouncing the regime from Shashemene to Kofele and Arsi Kokosa. Clashes with security forces have ...

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