One of their lawyers told the BBC that they were prevented from meeting the members of the federal and Addis Ababa councils who were arrested following the declaration of emergency by the Council of Ministers.
According to lawyer Solomon Gejakne, member of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the Standing Committee on Government Expenditure, Management and Control, Mr. Christian Tadele and Member of the Addis Ababa Council, Dr. Kasa Teshager, have been trying to find him since they were arrested by the police, but they have not received permission yet.
Last week, Tuesday, August 8, 2023, they mentioned that the police illegally arrested their clients who have the right to be prosecuted. Their lawyers have filed a motion to acquit the body in the birth division trial of the Federal Court of First Instance and are currently pursuing the case.
Attorney Solomon, who said that he had a discussion with the Deputy Head of the Federal Police Criminal Investigation Bureau, Mulisa Abdisa, and asked to be able to meet Mr. Christian, said, “You cannot meet him because they are under a state of emergency, and the state of emergency prohibits them from getting a lawyer. But I can assure you about his safety.”
“When we asked his family, they said, ‘We will see him in the distance.’ We don’t know what it is. But as lawyers, we don’t know what the status of both councilors is. We did not see them; We did not find them.”
Lawyer Salomon added that they do not know whether their clients have given a promise yet or what they were arrested for.
Mrs. Zabshwork Kassa, the family of Mr. Christian Tadele who spoke to the BBC, stated that they were allowed to see Mr. Christian once a day and that they would return after receiving food, but we were not allowed to talk to him, so we could not know about his health condition.
“People who hear a lot of information on social media saying that he was beaten and sick call us. After we see it, we spend the time worrying about it until we get it back. We were not able to approach him to ask if he had any health problems. We are not allowed,” he said, adding that the family is under threat.
Mr. Christian Tadele Friday, August 04 2023 It will be remembered that their families said that they were taken away from their homes by the security forces around 3:30 pm.
At the time, “I am a legal person, why do you want me?” When asked, one of the policemen “beat him with a box,” said a family member of the councilor who was there at the time.
Mr. Christian Tadele has raised the issue of genocide and other abuses in the House of People’s Representatives, especially in the Oromia region, and has asked the Prime Minister to resign.
Dr. Kassam, a member of Addis Ababa City Council, posted a message on his Facebook page in the middle of the night on the day the emergency was declared, saying, “People who claim to be policemen come at night and say, ‘I’m open.'”
The General Department of Emergency Proclamation announced the arrest of 23 suspects who were accused of “carrying out various illegal activities by providing logistics and financial support to escalate the conflict in the Amhara region” last week.
Among them are Mr. Christian Tadele, a member of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the Standing Committee on Government Expenditure, Management and Control, and Dr. Kasa Teshager, a member of the Addis Ababa City Council.
However, human rights organizations and families have stated that mass arrests are being carried out by the security forces, adding that the number of people arrested is more than what has been reported.
The Council of Ministers on Friday, August 04 2023 following the conflict between Fano militants and the defense forces in the Amhara region. He declared a state of emergency in his meeting, and the Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives passed this decree on Monday, August 14 2023. It is known that it was approved by a majority vote.
When the House of Representatives held an emergency meeting to investigate and approve the decree, although the imprisoned member was expected to raise the issue of Mr. Christian Tadlen’s immunity, nothing was said other than that one member raised the issue.
