Christian Tadele, a member of the Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives, and Yohannes Buayalew, a member of the Amhara Region Council, have faced significant human rights challenges during their detention. Both were arrested under the state of emergency declared in the Amhara region in August 2023, amid escalating tensions between the federal government and regional militias.
The families of Christian Tadele, a member of the House of People’s Representatives, and Yohannes Buayalew, a member of the Amhara Regional Council, who are being held at Kaliti Prison, have been diagnosed with “serious illness,” their families told the BBC.
Their families, who asked not to be named, said the prisoners “experienced constant bleeding” after undergoing surgery.
Their lawyer, Solomon Geshegn, told the BBC that the two politicians underwent surgery two weeks ago “after repeated complaints”. The families of the detainees said that although the two individuals were supposed to stay in the hospital after the surgery, “they refused and were taken back to the prison in an uncomfortable vehicle hours apart.” A close family member of Mr. Christian said, “The wound hasn’t healed and he’s bleeding. The doctors said he might bleed and they told him to bring him in if he does.”
However, they stated that they were not taken to the hospital after the surgery.
Family members, who recalled that they were given painkillers to treat the bleeding that occurred following the treatment, told the BBC, “They also ran out of painkillers. They were taking them too quickly to relieve the pain.”
A member of Ato Yohannes’ family said, “Yesterday when we went to bring a sedative, we were told that you cannot enter; why? We said that they were going to change. But until yesterday, they told us that they would not go. Yesterday, they suddenly got up and left, so they refused to let us in, saying that you cannot bring in any food or medicine.”
A family member of Mr. Christian also said, “Yesterday, when we went with food and medicine, we returned because no one was there to take us in.”
The Federal Prison Commission announced in a statement issued last week, Monday, December 7, 2017, that it would transfer prisoners from the Kaliti Prison to the prison commonly known as Aba Samuel, located in the Gelan area.
Following this, he indicated that “both inmate family visits and office work services provided at the Addis Ababa Qaliti Correctional Center will be suspended from December 8 to 13, 2017.”
The commission also announced in a statement that the service, which was suspended since Tuesday of last week, will resume on December 14.
However, the families of Mr. Christian and Mr. Yohannes told the BBC that they were still unable to bring food in and visit the prisoners.
The prosecutor filed charges against Ato Yohannes Buayalew and Ato Christian Tadele in March last year. In addition to the two council members, 50 other individuals and politicians are also included in the indictment filed in Ato Yohannes Buayalew’s name.
The individuals were detained in late 2015 in connection with the state of emergency declared in the Amhara region and remained in detention for six months without being charged.The prosecutor based the case on the Criminal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. The defendant’s lawyers, for their part, submitted their 12-page counterclaim to the court in May of last year.
