by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (December 13, 2018) Members of the Ethiopian parliament paid a visit to the now closed Ma’ekelawi, an infamous jail in the capital Addis Ababa where political prisoners have been tortured. After international outcry over torture and abuse of prisoners at the jail, which also doubled as the “central investigation bureau,” the government announced in April ...

Kefyalew Tefera Yonas Gashaw by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (December 12, 2018) Yonas Gashaw trumbles as he speaks. He is now paraplegic and both legs shiver constantly. He has gone through hell. His father died in exile after he was forced out of his country due to his association with the previous regime. His mom was also jailed for six ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (July 6, 2018) Prisoners at the Jail Ogaden in the Somali region of Ethiopia have been transferred to several other prisons in the region after a report by the Human Rights Watch exposed torture and human rights abuse at the notorious detention center. Abdulahi Hussien, a former advisor to Abdi Illey, the regional president, told ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (July 5, 2018) A damning report by a rights watchdog exposed horrific torture committed against prisoners in Jail Ogaden, a prison in the Somali region of Eastern Ethiopia. Located in the regional capital JiJiga, Jail Ogaden holds prisoners accused of being members and supporters of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), a Front that until ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (July 4, 2018) The federal prosecutor said five officials with the government prison administration have been fired for perpetrating torture and other human rights abuses against political and other prisoners. Freed political prisoners have exposed on ESAT and other media outlets that torture against inmates by prison officer and their bosses have been a common ...

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 ...