Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Bertukan Mideksa
A former judge who was charged with treason and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2005, is just one of many people jailed for exercising their fundamental rights, in this case the freedom of speech.
Why No-One Speaks Out: Politics and Human Rights in Ethiopia
Ethiopia has no independent judiciary, no free press, no civil society, and individual liberties have been severely curtailed, so why isn’t Meles Zenawi a persona non grata in the international community, asks human rights activist Mitmita. Birtukan Mideksa, a former judge who was charged with treason and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2005, is just one of many people jailed for exercising their fundamental rights, in this case the freedom of speech, says Mitmita.
Mideksa is in solitary confinement in Kaliti Prison for allegedly violating the terms of a government pardon granted to her in 2007. The accusations are based on her failure to retract statements made in a speech that she was released from prison through a politically negotiated settlement rather than a formal legal pardon. Western failure to condemn abuses by Zenawi’s government for the sake of their own strategic interests, says Mitmita, comes at the expense of the rights of ordinary Ethiopians.
Why No-One Speaks Out: Politics and Human Rights in Ethiopia
Ethiopia has no independent judiciary, no free press, no civil society, and individual liberties have been severely curtailed, so why isn’t Meles Zenawi a persona non grata in the international community, asks human rights activist Mitmita. Birtukan Mideksa, a former judge who was charged with treason and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2005, is just one of many people jailed for exercising their fundamental rights, in this case the freedom of speech, says Mitmita.
Mideksa is in solitary confinement in Kaliti Prison for allegedly violating the terms of a government pardon granted to her in 2007. The accusations are based on her failure to retract statements made in a speech that she was released from prison through a politically negotiated settlement rather than a formal legal pardon. Western failure to condemn abuses by Zenawi’s government for the sake of their own strategic interests, says Mitmita, comes at the expense of the rights of ordinary Ethiopians.
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