126 people held incommunicado at an informal site near Awash Melkassa; detainee beaten by police
- Ref
- OHRM-2021-0144
- Date of incident
- Zone
- East Shewa
- Number of people affected
- 126
A detainee told EHRC that on 15 May 2021 Oromia police took 126 people to a poultry farm compound outside Awash Melkassa, where they were held for two months without their families knowing where they were, with little food and water. He said about seven special police beat him with sticks and kicks until his head bled and threatened to kill him. EHRC saw scars and medical records.
Source: Ethiopian Human Rights Commission statement (Amharic (summarised in English)), published 2022-05-19. https://ehrc.org/%e1%8a%a6%e1%88%ae%e1%88%9a%e1%8b%ab%e1%8d%a1-%e1%8a%a8%e1%88%95%e1%8c%8d-%e1%8a%a0%e1%8c%8d%e1%89%a3%e1%89%a5-%e1%8b%8d%e1%8c%aa-%e1%89%a0%e1%8a%a5%e1%88%b5%e1%88%ad-%e1%88%8b%e1%8b%ad-%e1%8b%a8/