Ethiopia: Detention Memoir - Eleven Detainees, Eleven Days. What Really Happened

analysis

Have you ever lived in a square meter room? I did, but not in a literal way. It happened in Nifas-silk police detention center in the last 11 days. Forty people have been sleeping, eating and even urinating in a 32 square meters' room. A person has been sleeping in less than a square meter. Of these 40 people, the renowned politician Andualem Aragie as well as journalists Eskinder Nega and Temesgen Desalegn were included.

On Sunday, the 25th of March, Blue Party had a luncheon to thank former political prisoners the Ethiopian state has recently released. After the luncheon, some of the guests, including myself, who attended the event as a an activist-reporter, went to Temesgen Desalegn's family house. Journalist Temesgen was also released 5 months ago from Ziway/Batu federal prison after serving three years of sentence with bogus charges of 'incitement'. At Temesgen's place around Jomo condominium, in western part of the city of Addis Abeba, there was a mini event where some activists and friends of the former political prisoners prepared to honor the latter. The event was an informal gathering in a compound. By the time most guests have left, two policemen came in and took off the flag that was hanging on the wall inside the compound. The flag didn't have the official emblem on it, and it is not lawful to display it in public. In our defense, the event wasn't formal nor public; and, it is a global culture to hang civil flags on civilian spaces.

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