{"id":358874,"date":"2021-06-11T01:11:51","date_gmt":"2021-06-11T05:11:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/?p=358874"},"modified":"2021-06-11T01:13:38","modified_gmt":"2021-06-11T05:13:38","slug":"ethiopian-government-summarily-executed-a-17-year-old-boy-human-rights-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/358874","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopian government summarily executed a 17-year-old boy &#8211; Human Rights Watch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2021\/06\/10\/ethiopia-boy-publicly-executed-oromia\">Human Rights Watch<\/a> issued the following statement on the gruesome public execution of a teenage boy in Dembi Dolo town, Ethiopia, by Oromia Police. The teenager was forced to march through the town before a police officer shot him in the back of his head. Abiy Ahmed&#8217;s government in Ethiopia is outpacing the previous two governments at the level of its savagery.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2021\/06\/10\/ethiopia-boy-publicly-executed-oromia\">HRW<\/a>) &#8211; Ethiopian government forces summarily executed a 17-year-old boy in Ethiopia\u2019s Oromia region in broad daylight, Human Rights Watch said today. The public execution of Amanuel Wondimu Kebede underscores the lack of accountability for security force abuses in the country.<\/p>\n<p>On May 11, 2021, government forces apprehended and beat Amanuel in Dembi Dollo, a town in the Kellem Wellega zone of western Oromia. A video posted on social media by the town\u2019s administration shows security forces taunting a bloodied Amanuel with a handgun tied around his neck. He was executed in public that day. In the ensuing weeks, the authorities intimidated and arbitrarily arrested other Dembi Dollo residents, including Amanuel\u2019s family members.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The execution of Amanuel Wondimu\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/561664748?badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479\" width=\"626\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Ethiopian authorities\u2019 summary execution of a teenage boy shows astounding disregard for human life,\u201d said Laetitia Bader, Horn of Africa director at Human Rights Watch. \u201cThe callous way that security forces and local officials filmed and then publicized this horrific event demonstrates that these authorities believe they can act above the law without fear of consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Western Oromia has been the site of a three-year-long conflict between federal and regional government forces and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), an armed group that broke from the political opposition party, the Oromo Liberation Front(OLF), in 2019. Afederal command post in western Oromia coordinates federal and regional security forces in the area, including Ethiopian Defense Forces, Oromia special police, Oromia regular police forces, and administrative militia forces. On May 1, Ethiopia\u2019s parliament proscribed \u201cShene\u201d \u2013 a government term for the OLA\u2013 as a terrorist organization.<\/p>\n<p>Human Rights Watch interviewed 11 Dembi Dollo residents and reviewed several videos and photographs posted on social media, media articles, and statements by government officials relating to Amanuel\u2019s killing.<\/p>\n<p>Witnesses said that at about 8 a.m. on May 11, Oromia regional special forces, known as Liyu Hail, arrested Amanuel near his home in Dembi Dollo\u2019s Kebele 07 neighborhood. Media accounts said that local authorities alleged that Amanuel had shot and injured a contractor, Gemechu Mengesha, in the town. Relatives said that Amanuel was 17-years-old and was still in school. Residents in Dembi Dollo were surprised that the authorities apprehended Amanuel, and described him as a grade 10 student, who worked at a church, and had always lived in the Kebele 07 neighborhood.<\/p>\n<p>Two residents saw the Oromia special forces beating, punching, and kicking Amanuel. \u201cThey were using all means to beat him, with their boots, hands, with the stick and butt of the gun,\u201d one witness said. \u201cHe was even beaten on his head. He fell to the ground. It was very shocking to see.\u201d Residents later saw Amanuel trying to escape in the Kebele 05 neighborhood, but the soldiers shot him in the leg.<\/p>\n<p>A second video that Human Rights Watch reviewed shows Amanuel being paraded down a street, visibly limping on his right side, and surrounded by security forces, including Oromia special forces and local police. Amanuel is forced to repeat: \u201cI am a member of Abba Torbee [an armed group in Oromia and with unclear links to the OLA]. Don\u2019t do what I did. Learn from me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Witnesses said a mixture of command post forces, including Oromia special forces, Oromia police, local militia, and Ethiopian defense forces then ordered vehicles to stop and rounded up residents from the local bus stop. Nearby business owners were also forced to close up shop and watch the events. Other residents joined the crowd on their own. One man watching the scene said: \u201cThey brought everyone to the center of the town and told the people if anyone tries to attack the security forces in the town, he or she would face a similar fate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Video corresponding with Dembi Dollo\u2019s communication affairs Facebook post, which showed Amanuel with visible signs of beatings to the head, blood on his t-shirt, clothes torn apart, and his hands apparently tied behind his back at the town\u2019s roundabout with a handgun hung around his neck. Blood appears visible next to Amanuel on the roundabout and the road. The video shows at least three Oromia special forces soldiers standing near him, two of whom are carrying Kalashnikov-style assault rifles. In the video, he is told to confirm his name and where he was born.<\/p>\n<p>Four witnesses described how the authorities ordered Amanuel to turn his head and then shot him at least two times in full sight of residents. A photo posted on social media appears to show Amanuel lying down with his hands still tied behind his back, slumped over at the town\u2019s roundabout.<\/p>\n<p>After security forces executed Amanuel, they prevented residents from approaching the body.\u00a0Security force personnel brought Amanuel\u2019s parents, whom they had detained at a local police station that morning, to the roundabout. His mother started screaming when she saw her son\u2019s body and Oromia special forces and local police started to beat her and Amanuel\u2019s father in response. One witness said:<\/p>\n<p>His mother was crying, shouting, requesting to be able to bury her son. She was extending her hands saying: \u201c<em>Maalo<\/em>,\u00a0<em>maalo<\/em>\u201d [Afaan Oromo for \u201cplease, please\u201d]. They beat her with sticks. [His] father also asked to pick up the body. He also extended his hands, trying to persuade them. The mother was beaten, she fell to the ground.<\/p>\n<p>Community elders eventually negotiated with the security official in Kellem Wellega zone, who finally allowed them to retrieve Amanuel\u2019s body for burial.<\/p>\n<p>Journalists asked Tesema Wariyo, the Kellem Wellega security head, why Amanuel was not taken before a court. He\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/654070648098812\/videos\/1067882913740880\">replied<\/a>: \u201cAmanuel was not a suspect, but clearly an enemy, an OLF-Shene member who came from the bush.\u201d Human Rights Watch reached out by phone to the Oromia regional police commission and the Kellem Wellega security zone head but received no response.<\/p>\n<p>Since Amanuel\u2019s killing, government authorities have intimidated and harassed Dembi Dollo residents, including Amanuel\u2019s family members and friends. Oromia security forces arrested over a dozen people,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/addisstandard.com\/news-security-forces-in-western-oromia-arrest-mourners-at-amanuel-wondimus-home-the-teenage-executed-in-public\/\">including Amanuel\u2019s father<\/a>, who were gathered at the family home\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/addisstandard.com\/news-security-forces-in-western-oromia-arrest-mourners-at-amanuel-wondimus-home-the-teenage-executed-in-public\/\">mourning<\/a>\u00a0Amanuel\u2019s death. Other residents were warned not to visit the house anymore. While many of those arrested have since been released, Amanuel\u2019s father remains in detention. \u201cThe case of Amanuel and his family is not unique,\u201d one resident said. \u201cWe are getting used to these killings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Human rights groups and the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/addisstandard.com\/special-edition-failed-politics-and-deception-behind-the-crisis-in-western-and-southern-oromia\/\">media\u00a0<\/a>have reported numerous abuses\u00a0by government security forces,\u00a0including\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-africa-55530351\">extrajudicial killings<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/20200229-ethiopia-s-abiy-faces-outcry-over-crackdown-on-rebels\">summary executions of detainees<\/a>, arbitrary arrests, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/addisstandard\/status\/1332272985869312005?s=20\">repeated<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2020\/03\/09\/ethiopia-communications-shutdown-takes-heavy-toll\">communications\u2019 shutdowns<\/a>\u00a0in western Oromia.\u00a0Armed groups in the area have allegedly also\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/01\/30\/world\/africa\/ethiopia-students-kidnapped.html\">abducted<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2021\/3\/31\/gunmen-kill-30-people-in-western-ethiopia-witnesses-say\">killed<\/a>\u00a0minority community members, police officers, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/afaanoromoo\/oduu-52873383\">government officials<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/afaanoromoo\/oduu-52873383\">attacked aid workers and their vehicles<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>International human rights and humanitarian law prohibits summary, extrajudicial, or arbitrary executions, and torture and other ill-treatment of people in custody. Ethiopia is a party to international and regional treaties, including the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/en\/professionalinterest\/pages\/crc.aspx\">Convention on the Rights of the Child<\/a>, the Geneva Conventions, and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/au.int\/sites\/default\/files\/treaties\/36804-treaty-african_charter_on_rights_welfare_of_the_child.pdf\">African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child<\/a>, that contain special protections for children.<\/p>\n<p>The government\u2019s continued failure to properly investigate security force abuses or hold those responsible to account in Oromia and elsewhere in Ethiopia has helped perpetuate a climate that facilitates such crimes, Human Rights Watch said. The Ethiopian authorities should publicly denounce extrajudicial killings and other serious abuses by Ethiopian security forces, and undertake a system-wide, structural reform of the security sector at both the regional and federal levels.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEthiopian authorities have shown nothing but contempt in the face of alleged atrocities instead of investigating these abhorrent acts,\u201d Bader said. \u201cThe authorities should demonstrate they are serious about ending the abuses that have wreaked havoc on Oromia residents like Amanuel, and ensure that all those responsible, whatever their rank, face justice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Human Rights Watch issued the following statement on the gruesome public execution of a teenage boy in Dembi Dolo town, Ethiopia, by Oromia Police. The teenager was forced to march through the town before a police officer shot him in the back of his head. Abiy Ahmed&#8217;s government in Ethiopia is outpacing the previous two [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":358876,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-358874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ethiopian-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Amanuel-Wondimu-pic-2.jpg?fit=428%2C256&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9NivD-1vmi","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=358874"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":358879,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358874\/revisions\/358879"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/358876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=358874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=358874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=358874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}