| Dec. 30th, 2005 @ 11:02 am Help Needed - Mass and Ca Residents... |
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Hello all,
It's been a while since my last post...but unfortunately this isn't going to be my usual wacky post...I received an email from my uncle, who lives in Ethiopia...it's long but worth a read. If you live in MA or CA, we could use your help...please read..
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All,
Our old friend Kifle Abate was detained two weeks ago and made his second court appearance (the first was the day after he was arrested, when he was remanded for two weeks pending “investigations”) on Wednesday. His appointment at the Addis Ababa municipal court was for 0930 Wednesday. Carmela and his lawyer, Ato Mehreteab Leul, arrived at court before 0900 hrs. Kifle was brought to court in the back of a lorry with a large number of other detainees (who appeared to be both political and criminal detainees). The judge didn’t appear in court until after 1100hrs. After reviewing Kifle’s file, the judge announced to the court that he was closing the file because there was no evidence and no reason for Kifle to have been arrested. The police objected strenuously. The judge reaffirmed his decision in very strong terms. Carmela said that there was no prosecutor present in the court, only police officers. The judge ordered that Kifle be released and the police refused and rushed him out of the court over objections from everyone concerned. The police then took Kifle to the Court of Appeals but it was closed and they returned to his place of detention (3rd Police Station). Carmela said that previously polite police officers were at this point quite hostile and rude, clearly angry. At mid-afternoon, the police again left the station with Kifle (at this point, when he told them he had a right to know where he was being taken and why. the policeman who appeared to be in charge snapped “You have no rights”). With Carmela in hot pursuit, they returned to the Court of Appeals near Mexico square. Carmela summoned the lawyer, who made it to the court as the police started addressing the two judges who were present. The two judges informed everyone that they couldn’t hear any part of the “case” because they are required to have three judges present and they gave them an appointment to return Thursday at 13:30 hrs..
Yesterday, Kifle had his appearance at the Court of Appeals. The Appeals judges ruled that there was no basis to reopen the case, which had been closed by the lower judge. They ordered his immediate release and the Police again refused. Kifle was returned to jail. He is incarcerated in one of the city's largest jails, at the 3rd Police Station, in the general population. His cell mates, too numerous to count, include robbers, rapists, and murderers. Despite the direct orders of two courts, Kifle is still detained. The great fear now is that because the Police can't get the courts to "cooperate" with them, they will simply make Kifle disappear.
I'm writing now to seek your assistance in contacting Representatives and Senators who you might know. Among those who have already been working on Ethiopia issues are Reps. Charles Rangel (NY), Chris Smith (CA), Major Owens (NY), Donald Payne (NJ), Chris Van Holland (MD), Barbara Lee (TX), and Senators Maria Cantwell (WA), Teddy Kennedy (MA), Hillary Clintons (NY), Barrack Obama (IL). Please get this story to anyone you can think of who would be in a position to pressure the US government to apply pressure here.
For background, Kifle Tigneh Abate is married to American citizen Dr. Carmela Green-Abate (who was born in NY, but does not have a current US residence. She is employed by Catholic Relief Services which has its headquarters in Baltimore). He has been active in politics here since 1992, when non-government political activity was first allowed. He was elected to parliament from the 20th District of Addis Ababa in May 2005 as a member of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), which won all of the seats from Addis Ababa, plus control of the Addis Ababa City Administration. In protest over blatant government attempts (ultimately successful) to rig the elections in their favor, the CUD parliamentarians-elect refused to take their seats in Parliament. At this point, several CUD members have been coerced into entering Parliament. All of the CUD leadership has been arrested (recently there has been coverage of this in the US as 131 detainees have been charged with things ranging from genocide to treason to subverting the constitution).
Will greatly appreciate anything you can do to get this pulbicized in the US. The Embassy here is not willing to be directly involved because Kifle is not an American (even though his wife is). Unfortunately, our Embassy appears to be supporting the government as it attempts to repress a genuine democratic movement.
Please do let me know what you are able to do, and if you need further information. I will try to get whatever you need. Can't discuss this over the phone as all lines are now thoroughly tapped, especially foreigners.
We live in interesting times!
Thanks for your help and support.
Doug |
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