Ethiopia: Letter - to All Human Beings Who Are Human, By Journalist Wubushet Taye (Zeway Prison)

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"Discussing these types of issues is forbidden," said the warder rudely and added, "You are only allowed to discuss family matters". You might suspect that these words were spoken by one of our beloved mother Ethiopia's prison officers. However, they are actually taken from Maxim Gorky's 1906 story Mother (page 102). The story was written 108 years ago - so very long ago! But it doesn't seem so long to us - why? Because what we are living through now is even worse. And it is worrying how fast things are deteriorating.

Prison is now where everything leads. Every day we are told by the media that what is needed is "strong measures; measures to ensure it won't happen again; measures to remove etc". These words are not legal principles but are spoken in hate. These statements, which are only a fraction away from a declaration of systematic state terror, are especially damaging for those of us who are held in Ethiopia's prisons.

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