92001E1827

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1827/01

by John Cushnahan (PPE-DE) to the Council

(27 June 2001)

Subject: Intimidation of human rights defenders in Ethiopia

Is the Council aware of the routine intimidation of human rights defenders in Ethiopia, which has most recently manifested itself in the arrests and subsequent denial of bail of Prof. Mesfin Woldemariam, the founder and first chairman of Ethiopia's Human Rights Council (EHRCO), and Dr Berhanu Nega, an academic and human rights activist? In addition to the arrests, which may violate Ethiopia's constitutional guarantee of freedom of assembly, the denial of bail is a common method used by the Ethiopian Government to silence outspoken human rights critics by incarcerating them while long, intentionally slow investigations are carried out. Will the Council demand that the Ethiopian Government respect these men's fundamental rights and that the chronic harassment of human rights defenders be brought to an end?

Reply

(26 November 2001)

The Council, which is closely following the situation in Ethiopia, remains concerned about the development of the political situation and the human rights violations in that country. Following events in Addis Ababa in mid-April this year, the local EU troika approached the Ethiopian authorities on two occasions (April and August 2001) to express the EU's concern about the ways in which the disturbances were quelled and about the subsequent imprisonment of students and opposition leaders.