Iwooket Welcomes the Arrest of the 63 Notorious Corrupt and Genocide Perpetrators in Ethiopia
It has been reported that the new PM Abiy’s Government has arrested 63 Notorious corrupt and genocide perpetrators in Ethiopia. The arrestees include high ranking lawless intelligence officials, Military Personnel, and business people. Ethiopia’s Attorney General announced last Monday that the arrest is on allegation of Rights Violations and Corruption. According to Walta Information,the sweeping high-profile arrests carried out in recent days are a result of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s order for a months-long investigation into crimes under the previous government. Attorney General Berhanu Tsegaye told the media that some of those arrestees are suspected of shocking Human Rights abuses of Citizens including: Killings, torture, forced confessions, sodomy, rape, electrocution, confining with wild beasts, castrating mens’ organs, detaining in secret and private locations and many more shocking atrocities which are shameful and embarrassing to express in human languages.
The high ranking Military Personnel arrestees are accused of mismanaging a state-owned military corporation called the Metal and Engineering Corporation (METEC), which was looted in a Multi-Billion US Dollar corruption scheme. Attorney General Berhanu Tsegaye said that Ethiopia’s former spy chief is suspected of involvement in an attempt to assassinate PM Abiy Ahmed (the new Prime Minster) at a rally on 23 June 2o18. While other officials implicated in the plot have fled the country, the former intelligence chief is now hiding in Mekele/Tigre and should turn himself in to authorities, he said.
Human Rights Organisations, TWS, the Diaspora Ethiopian community and the domestic opposition groups have been calling for justice in the last 27 years. Under the previous government, Ethiopia, a close security ally of the West, used to be accused of rights violations by Human Rights activists. After PM Abiy, came to power in April his new government has released several thousand political prisoners, permitted exiled opposition groups to return home, dropped terror charges against prominent opposition politicians and permitted the media to operate more freely.
Amnesty International welcomed the arrests and acknowledged that many of these officials were at the helm of government agencies infamous for perpetrating gross Human Rights Violations, such as torture and arbitrary detention of people in a shocking private and secret facilities.
We urge the government of Prime Minister Abiy to take further steps to ensure justice and accountability for all past Human Rights Violations in the country. We also ask the International Community, Amnesty International, the British and other responssible governments around the World to support such lawful measures of PM Abiy Ahmed.