Report on the Mission of the
Special Rapporteur on Prisons
and
Conditions of Detention in Africa
to the
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
15 – 29 March, 2004
Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
Table of Contents
Map of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia……………………………………3
Acknowledgement………………………………………………………………………..4
Abbreviations……………………………………………………………………………..5
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….6
Prison Structure in Ethiopia ……………………………………………..…………….….7
Description of Detention Facilities Visited………………………………………..………9
Observations and Findings……………….………………………………..……………..23
Special Complaints………………………………………………………………………33
Good Practices…………………………………………………………………………...36
Conclusions and Recommendations……………………………………………………..41
Appendix…………………………………………………………………………………45
-
Press Statement at the beginning of the Mission…..……………………………45
-
Press Statement at the end of the Mission………………………………………47
-
Mandate of the Special Rapporteur………………………..……………………51
-
List of Persons Contacted…………………………………………..……………53
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
Map of Ethiopia showing Administrative Regions
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
Acknowledgement
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) wishes to express
its appreciation to the government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
(FDRE) for extending an invitation to the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and
Conditions of Detention in Africa to visit and inspect prisons and other places of
detention in the country. The Special Rapporteur is grateful to the authorities for their
hospitality, cooperation and support given during the duration of the mission.
A special note of appreciation also extended to the Ethiopian Human Rights Council
(EHRCO) which assisted with some logistical preparations prior to the mission. The
Special Rapporteur is particularly grateful to all the Non-Governmental Organisations
(NGOs) that found time to meet with her, as well as those that could not meet with
her but were willing to provide valuable information regarding the prison regime in
Ethiopia through the telephone. The information provided by these NGOs proved
invaluable during the inspection phase of the mission.
The Special Rapporteur would also like to acknowledge the contribution made by
Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Penal Reform International (PRI) by providing
relevant information about prison situations in Ethiopia prior to the mission.
It is also important to acknowledge the important contribution of Mr. Bareket Samuel
who accompanied the delegation throughout the mission and assisted in some cases as
an interpreter. The devotion of the drivers, especially Mr. Hebtamu Lema with whom
we travelled hundreds of kilometres from one region of the country to another,
sometimes into the early hours of the morning, is also acknowledged.
Most importantly, the Special Rapporteur would like to recognize the openness and
frankness of the local prison authorities as well as the detainees. Together, they
facilitated our work and we hope such openness will continue so as to enhance the
condition of detention of persons deprived of their liberty.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
Abbreviations
ACHPR
African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
AIDS
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
AU
African Union
EHRCO
Ethiopian Human Rights Council
FDRE
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
FSCE
Forum on Street Children Ethiopia
HIV
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
HRW
Human Rights Watch
ICRC
International Committee of the Red Cross
NGOs
Non-Governmental Organisations
OLF
Oromo Liberation Front
PF
Prison Fellowship
PRI
Penal Reform International
SNNPR
Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region
SRP
Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of Detention
in Africa
TB
Tuberculosis
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
I.
Introduction
At the 33rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
(ACHPR) held in Niamey, Niger, the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of
Detention in Africa, (SRP) Commissioner Dr. Vera Chirwa held discussions with the
government delegates from the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) to
explore the possibility of a visit to the country. At the 34th Ordinary Session of the
African Commission held in Banjul, The Gambia, the FDRE made an open invitation to
the Special Rapporteur to visit Ethiopia at any time. In consultation with the government
of Ethiopia, a mission was scheduled for 15 – 29 March 2004.
The mission falls within the mandate of the Special Rapporteur to monitor prisons and
other places of detention in Member States of the African Union and make appropriate
recommendations on how to enhance the rights of persons deprived of their liberty.
The Special Rapporteur was accompanied to the Mission by Mr. Robert Wundeh Eno,
Assistant to the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa.
On Monday 15 March 2004, the Special Rapporteur held talks with government officials
from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice and Information to brief them about the
mission. On 16 March 2004, the Special Rapporteur held a Press Conference at the
Siemen Hotel in Addis Ababa to inform the general public about the mission and urged
individuals and institutions that had suggestions to make on how to ensure a successful
mission, to come forward.
The Special Rapporteur visited and inspected nine prisons, two prison farms and two
police stations in five regions of the country. These included –
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Addis Ababa Prison
Kaliti Prison
Ziway Prison
Awasa Prison
Arba Minch Prison
Adama Prison
Dippo Prison
Dire Dawa Prison
Harar Prison
Ziway Prison Farm
Arba Minch Prison Farm
Awasa Woreda Police Station
Adama Woreda I Police Station
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
II.
Ethiopian Prison Structure
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, as the name suggests, is a federation made
up of semi-autonomous regions or states. The Regions are established on the basis of the
settlement patterns, ethnic composition, language, identity and consent of the people in
each locality. There are nine autonomous federated regions of the federation, while Addis
Ababa and Dire-Dawa are federal administrative regions.
Each Region has its own basic laws and regulations, which has to conform to the
Ethiopian Federal Constitution of 1995 – Regulation No 1 of 1995. Prison administration
was also governed along federal lines, with federal prisons and regional prisons having
autonomous regulations.
Prisons in Ethiopia have been inherited first, from the imperial era and later from the
brief Italian administration. Prior to the Italian occupation from 1935 to 1943, there was
only one prison in the country – in Addis Ababa – constructed by Emperor Segnito in
the early 20th Century.
In modern Ethiopia, the prison regime has been shaped by three main legal instruments:
-
Proclamation No. 44 of 1945
The Imperial Penal Code of 1957
Proclamation No. 365 of 2003 on the establishment of a Federal Prison
Commission
The above instruments, together with Proclamation No. 1 of 1995 - the Federal
Constitution of the FDRE, provide for the establishment and management of prisons
including the treatment of prisoners. Prison administration is at two levels – the federal as
well as the regional level.
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia with a land size of over 1,127,127 Sq Km
and a population of over 72 million inhabitants has over 63,000 prisoners held in 171
prisons.
a) Federal Prison administration
As a federation of eleven regions, the government has given some measure of autonomy
to the different regions to manage their own affairs, including the criminal justice system.
Among the eleven regions, two – Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa – are federal regions, that
have the jurisdiction to deal with federal matters. Like all other regions, they also manage
prisons and prisoners. Certain crimes such as genocide, inciting ethnic conflicts and
crimes committed by foreigners are tried in federal courts and convicted persons detained
in federal prisons. There are also prisoners in federal prisons for alleged terrorism,
especially persons purporting to be members of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), a
group fighting for an independent Oromo State. It is also possible to transfer prisoners
from federal prisons to regional prisons to serve their sentences there, if they so request.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
The Federal prisons receive their funding directly from the federal government and after
the adoption of Proclamation 365 of 2003; they are being managed by the Federal Prison
Commission. The federal prisons are better in terms of infrastructure, budgetary
allocations and management than regional prisons.
b) Regional Prison Administration
The regions represent the different ethnic groups that make up modern Ethiopia. Each
region is dominated by a particular ethnic group and it seems those regions with no
dominant ethnic group like Dire Dawa and Addis Ababa are made federal administrative
regions. Thus, in the Oromia Region, the Oromos constitute the majority, and in Amhara,
the Amharas.
Each region has its own prison laws or regulations which must not depart from
Proclamation 365 of 2003 and the values of the 1995 Constitution. Each region provides
for the welfare of its prisoners in accordance with its available resources. Thus, while
some regions provide formal and vocational training to inmates, some regions could not
afford. The Dippo Prison in the Oromia Region, for example, has wood and metal
workshops while Arba Minch and Awasa prisons in the Southern Nations, Nationalities
and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) has no schools for either formal or vocational education.
While Arba Minch Prison has a large prison farm, the Harar Prison suffers from a serious
shortage of water.
According to the administrative structure in Ethiopia, each region is divided into zones.
The zones are further divided into either Special Woredas or Woredas, and the Woredas
are also divided into Kebeles, the latter being the smallest administrative unit, at
community level. Prisons are also classified into Zonal, Special Woreda and Woreda
prisons – depending on the size of the prison. There are prisons in all the Zones and the
Woredas and there is hardly any prison in the Kebeles.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
Table 1 below shows the prison population distribution by region.
No.
Region
1 Tigray
2 Afar
3 Amhara
4 Oromia
5 Somali
6 Ben Shangul
7 SNNPR
8 Gambela
9 Harar
10 Dire Dawa
11 Addis Ababa
Total
III.
Including Robit Prison
Population Area size
Prison Population
in 000
in Sq Km. Male
Female
4,206.5
50 286
3,761
113
1,483.9
96 708
223
15
18,555.2
156 960
14,034
455
25,125.0
353 632
21,927
689
4,537.7
279 252
248
5
617.6
50 248
1,159
27
13,918.2
112 727
12,199
539
243.9
25 369
431
11
175.9
374
1,325
84
337.8
1 025
413
27
2,833.7
546
5,776
138
72,035.4
1 127 127
61,696
2,093
Total
3,874
238
14,489
22,616
253
1186
12,738
442
1409
440
5914
63,792
Including Kaliti Prison
Description of detention facilities visited
The Special Rapporteur visited nine prisons, two police stations and two prison farms in
five regions of the country. This section gives a brief description of the detention
facilities visited.
1. Addis Ababa Region
The Addis Ababa region is one of the two federal regions in the eleven region federation
of Ethiopia. It comprises 6 zones and 28 Woredas. The city is divided into 328 dwelling
associations (Kebeles) of which 305 are urban and 23 rural. Addis Ababa is located in the
heart of the country surrounded by the Oromia region. It has a land area of about 540
Km2 with a total population of almost three million inhabitants. As capital of the country,
Addis Ababa is a city where, despite differences in number, almost all-ethnic groups live
in. However, the major ethnic groups were the Amharas 48.3%, Oromos 19.2%, Guragies
17.5%, Tigrains 7.6%, and others all together 7.4%. Regarding religion, 82% of the
populations were Orthodox Christians, 12.7% Muslims, 3.9% Protestants, 0.8%
Catholics, and 0.6% followers of other religions (Hindus, Jews, Bauhaus, Jehovah,
Witnesses, Agthnostics).
The region has three prisons with a total of about 6,114 inmates – 5976 male and 138
female. The prisons include – Addis Ababa Prison, Kaliti Prison and Ziway Prison.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
a) The Addis Ababa Prison
The Addis Ababa Prison is a Federal prison situated in the capital of the country (just a
few meters from the African Union (AU) offices. It is the largest Federal prison and one
of the largest prisons in the country with a prison population size of 4835 – 4673 male
and 165 female.
The prison is divided into six sections called zones and the six zones are made up of 30
large cells called houses or blocks. The male prisoners occupy 25 of the cells while the
female occupy the remaining five cells, also called villas. The cells are not of equal sizes
and house inmates depending on their sizes. Thus, a cell of about 7m x 20m would have
about 135 inmates, while another cell of 7m x 7m would take about 25 inmates.
The male section of the prison is separated from the female section using a fence. The
female section is further divided into two – one section for nursing mothers and expectant
women and another section for the other women. There are 11 children in the women’s
section aged between 3 months and 4 years old. There are also about 3 teenage girl
prisoners in the women’s section.
One of the six zones houses some officials of the Derg (former) regime of Mengistu
Haile Mariam. This section, also referred to as Alem bekagn (end of the world, in
Amharic) has its own library, a computer training centre and a volley ball court.
Each zone has a small clinic that provides first aid medical services. Serious ailments are
referred to the Prison’s main clinic run by four doctors (including one prisoner doctor)
and twelve nurses. Cases that cannot be handled by the main clinic are referred to
hospitals outside the prison. 1
The clinic has a well stocked drug store and dispensary. It also has a dental section, a
Tuberculosis (TB) section, and a laboratory with modern equipment. According to the
Chief Medical Doctor of the Prison, the most common diseases are TB, hypertension,
diabetes and HIV/AIDS. There is a 7.9% HIV/AIDS prevalent rate in the prison.
1
The clinic also serves the prison staff and their immediate families. It is not opened to the public.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
The Special Rapporteur being shown the drug store of the Addis Ababa Prison
The prison infrastructure is relatively new and there is a lot of construction work going
on. There are classrooms for formal education right up to grade 6 and the authorities are
constructing another section to extend formal education to grade 10. There are also
classrooms built within the prison for subjects such as accounting and mathematics.
Vocational training is also part of the reformation process in the prison. The prison has a
well established vocational training section educating inmates on several trades including
– sewing, woodwork, metal work, weaving, computer training, hairdressing and home
economics. The prison also has a bakery with a modern machine that produced about 180
loaves of bread in about five minutes. The bread is used to feed the prisoners for
breakfast.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
The Special Rapporteur inspects an Accounting class in the Addis Ababa Prison
b) The Kaliti Prison
The Kaliti Prison situated some 11 Kilometers from the capital Addis Ababa is also a
federal prison with about 479 inmates, the majority of them top military officials of the
former regime charged with genocide and crimes against humanity. Some of the
prisoners have been in detention for more than 12 years and most have been convicted
and sentenced to life imprisonment. In a closed meeting with the Special Rapporteur,
they claim they are political prisoners and are being victimised by the new regime. They
also claim the majority of those detained across the country are persons opposed to the
new regime and range from peasant farmers to top politicians of the Derg regime. They
requested the Special Rapporteur to intervene on their behalf to appeal for pardon from
the state.
The prison has a total of 11 cells – 10 for the 471 men and 1 for the 8 women detain
there. The average age of the prisoners is above 50. The oldest prisoner claims to be
about 110 years. He is half blind and walks with the help of others.
There is a small clinic in the prison that administers first aid treatment. There is no
resident doctor or nurse. There is also a computer training centre and a small metal
workshop. There is no school for formal education. Since most of the prisoners are over
fifty years they may not be interested in classroom activities or metal or woodwork
training.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
The Special Rapporteur ws informed that the Kaliti prison compound is a makeshift
structure put together after 1991 when the Mengistu regime was toppled. It is not meant
for prison purposes. The prisoners informed the Special Rapporteur that most of the
structures have been built by them through their own contributions and assistance from
NGOs.
c) Ziway Prison
The Ziway Prison is another federal prison in the Addis Ababa region situated about 150
kilometres from the capital, Addis Ababa. It is made up of about 635 inmates – all male.
The prison has about eleven large cells of different sizes. Some hold 35 inmates, some
104 inmates.
There is a small clinic and a poorly equipped laboratory. It also has a school and a media
center where information and news is broadcasted to all the prisoners.
d) Ziway Prison Farm
The Ziway Federal Prison Farm is located a few meters away from the Ziway Prison and
covers almost 90 hectares of land. Irrigation water is derived from the Ziway lake. The
farm produces cash crops such as such as banana, pawpaw, pepper, orange, guava,
mangoes and also rears cattle. It also produces food crops such as maize, Onion, tomatoes
and cabbage.
The cultivation is done by the prisoners and this is done as part of the reformation and
reintegration policy of the prison. Farming is not done as part of punishment. The
prisoners are trained from soil preparation in the nursery to crop transplant in the main
farm.
The prisoners are paid for the work they do in the farms and depending on the nature and
duration of the work, they may be given 0.75Birr, or 1 Birr or 1.5 Birr. They are paid a
fraction of this money each month and the rest is kept by the administration and given to
them when they are released.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
The Special Rapporteur assists prisoners to harvest cabbage in the Ziway prison farm
2.
Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR)
The SNNPR as the name indicates is made up of over 50 different nations, nationalities
and peoples living cohesively. These ethnic groups have their own languages, culture and
history with which they identify themselves. It is the third largest region in Ethiopia with
a population of about 14 million (21% of national population) and an area of about
112,537 (10% of national area). It is divided into 13 zones, 8 Special Woredas, 104
Woredas and 3717 Kebeles. The State lies in the southern part of the country. It has
common borders with Kenya to the South, the Republic of the Sudan to the South West,
the Gambella Region to the North West, and the Oromia region to the North and East.
The rural population of the region accounts for about 93.2% of the total population. North
Omo, Sidama, and Guragie are the three zones with the highest population. The
population is concentrated mostly in eastern, northern and central part of the Region
while the western and southern parts are sparsely populated. The predominant languages
spoken in the region include, Sidamigna, Gruagigna, Wolayitagna, Hadiyigna, Keffigna,,
and Kembatigna. Other languages spoken in the region are, Gamoigna, Malo, Goffa and
Gedeo. The working language of the region is Amharic.
Under the former regime, prisons in the region were grossly neglected – inadequate
funding, no training facilities and no desire to reform and reintegrate prisoners. The
SNNPR Prison Administration Office was reconstituted in 1993 after the overthrow of
the Mengistu regime in 1991. Today, the region has a total of 23 prisons – 13 zonal, 5
Special Woredas and 5 Woredas. The 23 prisons have a total of 12,738 inmates.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
Table 2 shows the prisoners’ classification in the SNNP Region.
No.
Category
Male
Female
1
2
3
Death Sentence
Life Imprisonment
More
than
4
imprisonment
Awaiting Sentence
Awaiting trial
Children
Total
11
339
3,248
18
95
11
357
3,345
2,701
2,867
84
12,199
89
116
74
539
2,790
2,983
158
12,738
4
5
6
years
Total
Table 3 shows the human resources capacity in the prison sector in the SNNP Region.
Military
Civilian
Total
Male
650
80
730
Female
87
44
131
Total
737
124
861
The Special Rapporteur visited two prisons, one police station and one prison farm in the
region. These include the Awasa Prison, the Arba Minch Prison, the Awasa Woreda
Police Station and the Arba Minch Prison Farm.
a) The Awasa Prison
The Awasa prison is a regional prison located on the outskirts of the capital of the SNNP
Region – Awasa, some 400 kilometers from Addis Ababa. The original capacity of the
prison is estimated at 450 but it is holding 979 inmates – more than double its capacity.
The prison has a small clinic with a non-resident nurse. There is also a small library
which is almost empty safe for newspapers and a few books, a small manual wood
workshop and a weaving section. There are classrooms for formal education and most of
the teachers are inmates themselves.
The prison has 12 cells, 9 for males and 3 for female inmates. The female section is
completely separated from the male and is guarded by female guards. However, the
female section does not have any recreational facilities like the male section which has a
volley ball court and some indoor games. With support from the Catholic Mission in
Awasa, there are plans to construct four new blocks of 5m x 7m in size.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
The prison is managed by a staff of 67 whose average salary ranged from 420 to 600
Ethiopian Birr per month, that is, about 52 to 75 US Dollars a month. This is the salary
for an average Ethiopian civil servant.
The Special Rapporteur addresses prisoners in the Awasa prison
Table 4 shows the prisoners’ composition in the Awasa prison.
No.
Category
Male
Female
Total
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Death Sentence
Life Imprisonment
More than 1 and up to 25 years
Up to 1 year
Awaiting sentence
Awaiting trial and trial
Children
10
87
16
552
269
2
4
20
14
5
0
10
91
16
572
283
7
Total
936
43
979
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
b) The Arba Minch Prison
The Armba Minch Prison is a regional prison located about 300 kilometers from Awasa
and 700 kilometers from Addis Ababa. It has an original inmate capacity of about 1100
but holds about 1605 inmates – 1536 male and 69 female. The prison has a small and
poorly equipped clinic. There are no schools for either formal or vocational training. The
prison has 11 cells – 8 for male and 3 for female inmates. The local government has
approved a plan to build more cells.
c) The Arba Minch Prison Farm
Less than one kilometre from the Arba Minch Prison is the Arba Minch Prison Farm. The
farm grows crops such as maize, coffee, mangos, bananas, sugar cane and guavas.
Proceeds from the farm are sent to government. The authorities are negotiating with
government to allow the proceeds to be used within the prison.
The Special Rapporteur visits a sugarcane plantation in the Arba Minch Prison Farm
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
d) Awasa Woreda Police Station
The police station is located a few kilometers from the Awasa prison. There are about 30
detainees in a two room block. The rooms are very dirty and produced very bad odour.
The detainees themselves are stinking as they have not bathed for several days.
There is no where they can bath as there is no provision for a bathroom in the police
stations. The toilet, a few meters from the cell, is very dirty and detainees are not allowed
to go to the toilet at night. They are provided with a bucket where they urinate and empty
the contents in the morning.
The detainees are provided with neither blankets nor food, because according to the
authorities, the government does not provide any budget for persons detained in police
stations. There is no medical facility and there are reports of police brutality.
3. Oromia Region
The Oromia Region covers the largest part of the country. The Region borders the Afar,
Amhara and Benshangul/Gumuz regions to the north, Kenya to the South, the Somali
Region to the East, the Republic of the Sudan and the Benishangul/gumuz Region to the
West, the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region and the Gambella Region
to the South.
With a population of over 25 million and a land size of about 353,632 km², the Oromia
Region is the largest region in Ethiopia both in terms of population and land area. The
major ethnic groups within the Region included 85% Oromo, 9.1% Amhara and 1.3%
Gurage. The remaining 4.6% constituted other ethnic groups. The religious composition
of the population of the region indicated that 44.3% were Muslims, 41.3% Orthodox
Christians, 8.6% Protestants, and 4.2% followers of traditional religions. The remaining
1.6% constituted other religious groups. In urban Oromia, Orthodox Christians
constituted 67.8% of the population, followed by Muslims 24.0% and Protestants 7%.
Oromifa (Oromigna) is the official language. It constituted 83.5% of the spoken
language. Other major languages are Amharic 11%, Guragigna, 0.98%, Gedeogna 0.98%
and Tigrigna 0.25%.
The Region has a total of 33 prisons - 15 Zonal and 18 Woredas with an overall prison
population of 22,616. The Special Rapporteur visited and inspected prisons in the East
Shoa Zone. The East Shoa Zone has three prisons - Adama (Nazret) Prison, Dippo Prison
and the Ziway Prisons with a total prison population of 2,199. The Special Rapporteur
visited the Adama and Dippo prisons.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
a) The Adama Prison
The Adama (Nazret) Prison is located on the outskirts of the capital city of the Oromia
Region – Nazret. 2 The prison with its 7 cells – 6 for men and 1 for women – has an
original holding capacity of about 150 prisoners but has 300 inmates – 273 male and 27
female, including 5 children and one expectant mother. The female cell is completely
separated from the male cells and guarded by female guards. The age range of the
prisoners is from 16 to 82 years for men and 14 to 65years for women.
There is a small clinic with a resident nurse and one health assistant. There is no doctor.
Serious health cases are referred to hospital. The prison has a small library with very few
books; it also has a mini-media where information and news is disseminated to the
prisoners. The mini-media also serves as entertainment for the prisoners. There is no
classroom for formal education but some inmates have been arranging make-shift classes
to teach others. They follow the national curriculum and teach up to grade 5 level. With
the support of the prison authorities these classes will be recognised and accredited by the
regional government next year.
There are very few vocational activities, especially in the female section. As a matter of
fact, the female section has neither a school, a recreational facility nor a vocational
training facility. The argument advanced by the authorities for this absence is that male
and female inmates, as per prison regulations, cannot be put together and the authorities
do not have the resources or the space to establish separate facilities.
b) The Dippo Prison
The Dippo Prison is also located in the East Shoa Zone of the Oromia Region just a few
kilometers from the Adama Prison. It has a total prison population of 325 inmates. It has
a reasonably equipped vocational training facility that offers training in wood work,
metal work and weaving. There is limited space for other recreational facilities – there is
however, a volleyball court used almost exclusively by the male inmates.
With support from the Prison Fellowship Ethiopia, the authorities have constructed three
new large modern cells equipped with flushing toilets. The cells also have beds,
mattresses, bed sheets and towels for each inmate. Each cell has an area of about 7m x
12m with a capacity of 36 prisoners. The authorities plan to move some inmates into the
new cells by the end of April 2004.
2
It is also called and pronounced Nazareth. The name was changed from Adama to Nazret but the
local authorities still use the name Adama.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
The new wing of the Dippo Prison built by Prisons Fellowship Ethiopia
c) Adama Woreda I Police Station
The Adama Woreda I Police Station is located in the capital of the Oromia Region –
Nazret. It had a total of 85 inmates in three cells. The largest of the three cells is 4m x 7m
with 40 detainees.
The cells are poorly ventilated and overcrowded. There are no mattresses or blankets for
detainees to use. There is no water for bathing. The detainees have not bath since they
were detained, some for more than 25 days. Detainees also complain of police brutality.
Some showed the Special Rapporteur scars and wounds on their bodies allegedly caused
by police beatings.
They are fed only once a day with two loaves of bread each. They complain that the food
is usually not enough for all the detainees, so the authorities choose randomly, first from
those whose relatives were far away, and if there is food left, from the rest of the
detainees.
There is another make shift detention room for women, and at the time of the visit, there
were two female detainees aged 16 and 18. The room is built with zinc and the floor was
not cemented
The authorities complain that the government does not provide any budget for detainees
in police stations.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
4. Dire Dawa Region
The Dire Dawa Region is one of the two Federal Administrative Regions. The region
consists of the city of Dire Dawa and the surrounding rural areas. It has no administrative
zones but one woreda – the Gurgura Woreda. There are 24 urban Kebeles and 28 rural
peasants associations. Dire Dawa is the capital city of the administrative council.
The Region is located in the eastern part of the country enclosed by the Somali Region
and the Oromia region. It is about 515 Kilometers from Addis Ababa with a total land
area of about 1 025 Km² and a population size of about 337.800 inhabitants. The region
has only one prison – the Dire Dawa Prison, with a total of 440 inmates – 413 male and
27 female.
The prison has a total of 22 cells, 20 for men, some as large as 6m x 11m with 26
inmates, others 7m x 7m with 16 inmates. The other two cells house the 27 female
inmates with 1 kid. There is no school for either formal or vocational education. There is
a small clinic that attends to 15 – 20 inmates a day. There is no resident doctor but a
health assistant.
The regional government has allocated the sum of 127,108 Birr for vocational training
including 250,000 Birr to buy material and some 600,000 Birr for classrooms. The prison
has a total of 83 staff – 74 male and 9 female.
Table 5 shows the prisoners’ composition in the Dire Dawa Prison
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Category
Death Sentence
Life Imprisonment
5 – 25 years imprisonment
5 years and below
Awaiting Sentence
Awaiting Trial
Prisoners from Somali Region
Children (with their mothers)
Total
Male
0
14
64
61
129
118
26
1
413
Female
0
0
4
2
11
10
0
0
27
Total
0
14
68
63
140
128
26
1
440
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
5. Harari Region
The Harari Region is the smallest of the 11 regions in Ethiopia with a population of only
175.900 inhabitants and a land area of 374 Km². The capital of the region, Harar is one of
the most popular historical towns in the Eastern part of Ethiopia. The State has no
administrative zones or Woredas. It has about 19 Kebeles. The Region has located in the
Eastern part of Ethiopia, surrounded by the Oromia Region.
The ethnic composition includes Oromo 52.3%, Amhara 32.6%, Harari 7.1%, and
Guragies 3.2%. Harari language is the official language of the State. The religious
composition of the population indicates that 60.3% are Muslims, 38.2% Orthodox
Christian, 0.9% Protestants, 0.55 Catholics, and 0.1% followers of other religious groups.
The region has only one prison with an inmate capacity of 1000 but holds about 1370
prisoners – 1296 male and 74 female. It must be noted here that more than half of the
inmates in this prison are from the Oromia Region detained in the Harar prison because
the Oromia regional government does not have enough prisons to keep them in. While in
the Harar prison, the Oromia regional government provides money for their daily upkeep
and transportation to court for those whose cases have not been disposed.
The prison has a small clinic with no resident doctor but has three nurses - 2 assistant
nurses and a sanitation officer. The male section is separated from the female section. A
juvenile cell of 4m x 7m with 12 inmates is not completely separated from the adult
section as there is free movement of adults in and out of the juvenile block.
The prison had 31 cells of different sizes – some 4m x 5m with 10 inmates, some 6m x
7m for 29 inmates, some 5m x 7m for 14 inmates and others 6m x 15m for 55 inmates.
The 84 female prisoners are living in only 4 cells some of them with very rough and dirty
walls. The walls, as well as the floors are not cemented. The area is very small and has no
space for recreational and other activities.
The prison has a volleyball court and offers vocational training – woodwork, metal work,
and brick laying only to male inmates. The authorities plan to introduce sewing for
female inmates. There is a school that offers classes up to grade 6. The school is
accredited by the regional ministry of national education. There is an acute shortage of
water in the prison. This is as a result of water shortage in the region as a whole.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
Table 6 shows the prisoner composition in the Harari Region.
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Category
Death Sentence
Life Imprisonment
3 – 25 years imprisonment
3 years and below
Awaiting Sentence
Awaiting Trial
Total
Prisoners from Oromia Region
Male
Grand Total
2
20
88
76
134
103
423
873
1296
Female
0
0
3
6
6
10
25
49
74
Total
2
20
91
82
140
113
448
922
1370
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
IV.
Observations and Findings
This section of the report provides the general observations and findings of the Special
Rapporteur regarding the prison regime in Ethiopia. This includes findings and
observations on issues ranging from prison population, building structures and
accommodation, categories of prisoners, sanitation, discipline, etc. Under each aspect, the
Special Rapporteur will report on the observations and findings generally, making
references to specific examples where necessary.
1. Prison population and categories of prisoners
Ethiopia has a total prison population of 63,792 detained in 171 prisons. Apart from the
Dire Dawa Prison, all the other detention facilities visited, including the police stations,
are overcrowded, some holding inmates more than twice their capacity. 3 The problem of
overcrowding is more severe in the regional prisons than at federal level. In the Awasa
Prison for example, the original capacity is 450 inmates, but it is holding more than 979
prisoners, more than 200% overcrowding. In Arba Minch, a prison meant for 1100
inmates is holding 1605.
The overcrowding is as a result of the large number of unsentenced prisoners. In almost
all the prisons, a large proportion of the detainees are still awaiting trial or awaiting
sentence. In the Addis Ababa Prison for example, more than 3242 out of the 4835
inmates, about 68% of the total inmate population have not been sentenced. In the Awasa
prison, out of a total population of 979 inmates, 855 of them, that is, 87% of them are
either awaiting trial or sentence. 4 In the Harar Prison, 56% of inmates has not been
sentenced and in Dire Dawa, in spite not being overcrowded, 67% of the inmates are yet
to be sentenced.
Another possible reason for the overcrowding in prisons has to do with the Ethiopian
criminal procedure process. In Ethiopia, a prisoner is defined as anyone in custody –
convicted as well as suspects (awaiting trialists). According to the criminal procedure
process, when a suspect is arrested, he/she is detained by the arresting police officer at
the police station for investigation. The law requires that the suspect be brought before
the courts within 48 hours to be charged. However, if the police officer has not completed
investigation, he/she may request the judge for more time. Under Ethiopian law, there
seems to be no limit to the number of times a police officer can request for additional
time in order to complete investigation. Thus, there are persons in police custody in
Adama Woreda I Police Station for more than a month who have not been charged.
3
It should be noted here that most of the detention facilities visited were not originally meant to be
prisons and as such it was difficult to determine their original capacities.
4
However, in the SNNPR as a whole, the percentage of those awaiting trial and sentence was 45%.
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After completing his/her investigation, the police officer hands over the file of the suspect
to the State Prosecutor who then charges the suspect. 5 When the police investigation is
completed, the suspect is immediately removed from the police station and sent to a
prison. He/she is taken from prison each time his/her case comes before the court for
hearing. The suspect ceases to be called a suspect and is now called a prisoner and the
duty of the police with regard to that prisoner is completed. While in prison, there is no
differentiation between suspects and convicted prisoners. They are all mixed and treated
the same way.
In all the prisons, there is a “holding cell” for new-comers, where those who have been
transferred to prison spent about fifteen days before being allocated cells. These “holding
cells” are usually the most crowded and dirty. Most of the “newcomers” do not have
blankets or mattresses as the government does not provide them. So, some of them sleep
on very thin foams or sheets on bare floor.
(a)
Female inmates
All the detention centres visited, except Ziway Prison and the Awasa Woreda I Police
Station, have female inmates. Unlike the male sections, the female sections of the prisons
are cleaner and less crowded. In the Kaliti prison, there are only 8 women occupying 1
large cell, in the Adama Woreda I Police Station, there are only 2 teenage girls and in
Adama Prison, there are 27 women, and the same number in Dire Dawa Prison.
In the Addis Ababa prison, the female cells are called villas. Even though the cells are
well kept, some of the “villas” are overcrowded. There is a separate section for nursing
mothers and expectant mothers. The toilets are not very clean and the section for nursing
mothers a bit untidy. The female sections of the Awasa, Arba Minch and Harar prisons
are also crowded and the spaces very small for any outdoor activities.
In the Harar prison for example, there are 74 women sharing about 4 small cells. They
complain about overcrowding in the cells and outside the cells as they do not even have
space to engage in recreational services.
A remarkable feature of all the prisons is the fact that the female sections are well
separated from the male section and guarded by female guards.
In all the prisons with female inmates, there are also children detained with their mothers.
According to Ethiopian prison regulations, these children are supposed to remain with
their mothers until they reach 18 months. Thereafter, the authorities, in collaboration with
their mothers and their families would release the children if their families are prepared to
accept them, or to a charitable organisation, if they are willing to adopt the children.
However, in most cases, the families of the mothers are not prepared to accept the
children and there are few charitable organisations willing to shoulder responsibility as
5
It was also noted that the police officer also sends a report of his/her investigation to the court.
The Special Rapporteur was informed that this is to enable the courts to call up the matter should
the suspect not be brought to court by the Prosecutor within reasonable time.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
well. Thus, children remain in prison with their mothers for as long as their mothers are
detained or they (the children) are able to fend for themselves. There are children in
prison aged up to 8 years. Most of the children are not going to school and have no toys
or other entertaining facilities for children.
(b)
Juveniles
The prison structure does not adequately take care of juveniles. There is only one juvenile
court in the whole country and this was based in the capital, Addis Ababa. There are no
juvenile facilities in the regions – reformation centers or courts. Thus, juveniles are put
together with adults in all the prisons. In the Harar Prison, the authorities have allocated a
cell for juveniles but at the time of the visit, adults were found going in and out of the cell
and it is not completely separated from the adult section.
(c)
Foreigners
There are about 54 foreigners in the Addis Ababa prison. Foreigners are not imprisoned
in regional prisons, so most of them are sent to Addis Ababa. Most of them are detained
for drug trafficking. The Special Rapporteur met with the three female foreign prisoners
detained in the Addis Ababa Prison and discussed their condition of detention. Their
major complaint is insufficient access to their relatives. They are allowed to call only
once in two weeks – thus, twice a month. They also complain about the heavy fine given
by the court and said it would be difficult for them to pay as they have no relatives in
Ethiopia.
(d)
Persons with disabilities
There are very few inmates with disabilities. There are about three blind inmates in the
Addis Ababa prison and one blind female prisoner in the Adama Prison. There are no
inmates with mental disabilities. The Special Rapporteur was informed that such inmates
are referred to the Immanuel Mental Hospital for treatment.
(e)
Prisoners on death row
There is a small number of prisoners on death row. Most of those on death row are those
charged for serious offences such as murder, genocide and crimes against humanity. Very
few executions have taken place since 1991 when the Mengistu regime was toppled. The
majority of the Derg officials are sentenced to life imprisonment or higher prison terms.
Death row prisoners are not separated from the others and are not treated any differently
as well.
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2
Buildings and accommodation
(a)
Cells
The prisons are made up of very large halls also called houses or blocks or cells. The
cells are of varying sizes. There are no cells for individual inmates. In the Addis Ababa
Prison however, there is an inmate isolated from the others in a separate room (not a cell)
because he has a chronic case of TB (see - section on Special complaints). There are no
disciplinary cells as discipline, the authorities claim, is handled by the prisoners
themselves (see section on prison committees).
Many of the buildings are in relatively good conditions. With the exception of Awasa,
Harar and Arba Minch prisons, the other detention facilities are relatively clean and well
maintained. In the Awasa prison, the rooms are congested, not only with prisoners but
also with their belongings found hanging all over the walls. As a result the room is very
dark and less ventilated. The room is also poorly lit. In the Harar prison, the space is too
small for the number of prisoners. Cells are generally overcrowded, especially in the
female section. The cells in the male section are untidy as inmates chew and throw leaves
of chard (local herb believe to give body stimulation) on the floor.
In the Addis Ababa prison, there is construction work going on to improve the housing
units. Modern structures are being built for vocational training and formal education. The
prison walls are clean and well cemented. This is in contrast with the Harar and Awasa
prisons. In the Harar prison for example, the muddy walls, especially in the female
section are very rough and dirty. There are holes on the walls and the floors are very
rough and uncemented. These prisons have very poor ventilation as the windows are
usually on only one side of the buildings thus preventing air from going across.
In all the prisons, there are no separate areas for inmates to store their belongings.
Prisoners have therefore resorted to making holes on the walls to hang their things. This
makes most of the cells very crowded, dark and less airy.
Most of the prisons are accessible and located at the outskirts of town. The Addis Ababa
Prison is however located in a densely populated part of the capital city – a few metres
from the African Union office. The prisons are however, inaccessible to persons with
physical disability such as those on wheel chair or the blind people.
(b)
Kitchen
The kitchens are relatively clean. The Addis Ababa Prison has outsourced the cooking of
food to an outside company that prepares food for the inmates. In the regions however,
food is prepared in the prisons. Most of the prisons use gas for cooking.
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(c)
Religious facilities
Inmates are allowed to practice their religions. In all the prisons visited, there are
mosques for Muslims and churches for Orthodox Christians. In the Addis Ababa prison
there are two well constructed buildings for Muslims and Orthodox Christians. There is
however, no building for Protestants. Clergymen come from outside the prison to preach
on specific days. On other days, lay preachers from amongst prisoners themselves are
allowed to preach.
3)
Health and Hygiene
(a)
Medical care
In terms of article 27 of Proclamation No. 365 of 2003, the government is to take care of
the welfare and health of the prisoners. Even though this is a Proclamation that applies to
federal prisons, it is a practice in both domestic and international law. All the detention
centers, except the police stations have clinics that offer first aid treatment to prisoners.
Medical problems that cannot be handled by the clinics are referred to nearby hospitals.
In the Addis Ababa Prison, there is a clinic in each of the six zones of the prison and
another bigger clinic for more serious problems. Complaints that cannot be handled by
the latter are referred to the hospital. Apart from the Addis Ababa Prison, all the other
prisons have very few medical facilities. None of the regional prisons visited has an
equipped laboratory. There are very few medicines in the dispensaries and none has a
resident doctor or even a visiting doctor.
In the Arba Minch Prison, there is a quota of 8 inmates that can be sent to hospital each
day. This means if this number is attained, no other prisoner can be taken to hospital. The
authorities argue that this quota has been imposed on them by the hospital authorities as
there is also a quota on the number of patients each doctor can attend to, and secondly,
that the government does not provide the hospital with a separate budget for the treatment
of prisoners.
Apart from the Addis Ababa prison, all the other prisons are poorly staffed in the health
sector. In the Awasa prison, there is only one non-resident nurse, in the Arba Minch
prison, there is one resident nurse. The Adama prison has a health assistant and a
sanitation officer.
Generally, the most common diseases in the prisons are TB and HIV/AIDS. However,
there are other diseases peculiar in specific regions. For example, in the Harari Region,
the most common disease is malaria, in the Oromia Region, it was TB. Apart from
sensitisation, especially on HIV/AIDS, there is no risk prevention programme in any of
the prisons. However, it must be noted that prisoners with contagious diseases such as TB
are separated from the others.
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(b)
Women’s health
Matters peculiar to women inmates are not properly taken care of by the authorities.
Women are not provided with, among other things, sanitary pads. In the Addis Ababa
prison, the ICRC is providing women with some cloth which they use and wash to reuse.
The Special Rapporteur raised serious concern about this practice and drew the attention
of the women and the prison authorities to the health risks involved.
(c)
Sanitation
In all the prisons, prisoners are not provided with either mattresses or blankets. They are
required to provide for themselves. Other basic items such as soap, sheets, and detergents
for clothes are equally not provided. Such items are either provided by NGOs or the
Prisoners Committees.
One of the biggest problems in all the prisons is the shortage of water. The problem is
severe in the Harar Prison. The entire Harar Region has a perennial water problem. Water
is distributed to the inhabitants of the region in trucks. In the Arba Minch prison, there is
also a serious problem of water. However, in Arba Minch, the International Committee of
the Red Cross is working on bringing water to the prison from a nearby river using a
generator. Because of the poor water supply in most prisons, the toilets are not very
clean.
In the police stations, there is no water available to the detainees. They urinate in buckets
and empty the content the next morning. Detainees in police cells do not bath, and as a
result, they have rashes and very bad skin odour. The toilet in the Awasa Woreda Police
Station is very dirty with faeces on the floor. The cells are very dirty and smelling of stale
water and urine.
(d)
Food
The main dish in all the prisons is injera – the local bread – and stew, which most of the
time is made with beans, usually with no meat. Prisoners are fed three times a day with
the same meal. In the Addis Ababa prison however, prisoners are provided with bread
and tea for breakfast, vegetables twice a week, and meat twice a month. In Dire Dawa,
and Adama prisons, expectant mothers, nursing mothers, children and sick prisoners are
given special meals – meat, vegetables, milk, eggs, etc. Foreigners are provided with
porridge and rice, if they do not want injera. The quantity of food is usually much but
some prisoners complain about the quality, especially the stew.
The process of preparing the injera seems to be hygienic – from the preparation of the
turf (the raw material for the injera) through fermentation, to when the injera is made.
The containers used for fermenting the turf are well covered and stored in a separate
room. In the Adama Prison, there is a big store room for turf and soghorn. The room is
also clean, safe for some turf flour and soghorn on the floor.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
A woman preparing injera at the Adama Prison
The budget allocation for food depends on the region but the minimum is 2 Birr per
prisoner per day. In Federal prisons, the budget allocated for each prisoner per day is 3.5
Birr. In most of the regional prisons, the allocation is 2.0 Birr. However, the Harar,
Adama and Dippo regional prisons allocated 3.5 Birr per prisoner per day.
(e)
Clothing
Prisoners in Ethiopia are not provided with uniforms. They wear uniforms only when
they go out to work in the farms or in the workshops. They provide their own clothing
while in detention. Most of them are relatively neat but some are dressed in torn and very
dirty clothes. In the Harar prison, some prisoners complain that they have to borrow
clothes from others to put on when going to court.
4
Contact with the outside world
(a)
Visits
Prison regulations allow for family visits. In most prisons, this is limited to twice a week,
usually on Saturdays and Sundays. Prisoners however, complaint that the two days a
week is not enough as some of their family members come from far away and can only
visit on week days (Mondays to Fridays). Those who visit on week days are usually not
allowed to see their relations in prison but can leave behind whatever they have brought.
Prison authorities however, argue that the two days per week is enough and necessary to
maintain order. They also argue that, there is flexibility in the execution of the regulations
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15 – 29 March 2004
as visitors who can proof that they come from another region or from a distant area are
usually always allowed to see their relations even during week days. The visiting hours
are usually 30 minutes per visit – thus, one hour per week.
In all the prisons, there are waiting areas where visitors wait until the visiting time is
announced to them. In the Addis Ababa Prison, there is a visiting room where inmates
and prisoners can meet and discuss. In other prisons, such as Awasa Prison, there is
simply a wooden fence built to separate the prisoners from the visitors. Both prisoner and
visitor can see, hear and shake hands with each other.
Prisoners complain about the lack of physical contact with visitors. The women in
particular, argue that they would like to hug their children when they visit but this is not
permitted. Prison authorities argue that allowing physical contact might lead to disorder
as visitors can pass forbidden objects to prisoners.
(b)
Correspondence
Prisoners are allowed to write and receive letters. They are also allowed to make
telephone calls in exceptional cases. For instance, the three female foreign inmates in the
Addis Ababa Prison have been allowed to call their relatives in their country of origin
and to call their Ambassador who visited them in detention. Relevant Embassies are
always notified if their nationals are detained.
5
Work, Exercise and Education
(a)
Work
Most of the prisons have plans to develop prison farms. However, due to lack of space or
farm land, only a few have prison farms. Work in the farms is done by prisoners and they
are paid 0.75, 1.0 up to 1.5 Birr depending on the nature of the work. Prisoners in the
Ziway prison complain that the pay they receive is not commensurate to the work they
do.
The Special Rapporteur was informed that there is no forced labour in the prisons. No
work is meted out to any prisoner as a form of punishment; rather farm work and other
manual work are geared towards rehabilitation and eventual reintegration of the
prisoners. In the Arba Minch Prison, prisoners were found digging sewage and holes to
enable the ICRC connect water to the prison. The Special Rapporteur was informed that
they would be paid for their services by the ICRC. The prison authorities usually pay the
prisoners a fraction of their earnings and keep the rest to be given to them upon their
release.
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(b)
Formal and vocational education
Apart from the Addis Ababa, Kality and Dippo prisons, the other prisons have very few
facilities for vocational training. The Addis Ababa prison provides training in wood
work, metal work, sewing, weaving, welding, computer training and home economics.
The Kaliti prison also provides metal work and computer training to some prisoners. The
Dippo Prison has a well equipped woodwork, metalwork and weaving section where
inmates (male) are taught different skills.
The Special Rapporteur poses for a photo in the show room of the Dippo Prison skills training workshop
In the Arba Minch and Awasa prisons, there were no tools. In most of the prisons,
vocational training such as woodwork, metal work, weaving and sewing was given only
to male inmates.
In all the prisons the Special Rapporteur didn’t see female inmates taking part in any
vocational skill development activity. In the Addis Ababa prison however, there were
three female inmates learning home economics. The authorities argued that because of
inadequate resources and manpower availability, they could not provide training for both
sexes at the same time.
Most of the prisons have schools that provide formal education up to grade six. In the
Addis Ababa prison, the authorities are constructing a school to extend education to grade
10. The Dire Dawa, prison has no schools for formal education and no facilities for
vocational training.
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(c)
Exercise
Recreational facilities are very inadequate in all the prisons. Most of the prisons have
only a volleyball court which is sometimes used for football. Apart from the Addis Ababa
prison, there are no outdoor recreational facilities for female inmates. This can be
attributed to the small space allocated to female inmates in all the prisons. In the Addis
Ababa prison, the female section has a volley ball court and some in-door games. The
prisoners however, complain that they do not know how to use the in-door games as no
one has taught them.
In the Harar prison, the female section is so overcrowded that they do not have space
even for the indoor games. They complain that they do not even have space to dress up
and comb their hair. At first, they said, they were using the toilet or the bathroom for
dressing up but it has become impossible as these places are always occupied.
In all the prisons, prisoners spend the whole day outside the cells – from 8:00 am to 6:00
pm. At night, the cells are locked and opened only for emergencies.
6
Prison Rules and Discipline
The rights and duties of prisoners are spelled out in basic documents such as
Proclamation 365 of 2003, including the supreme law of the land – the Federal
Constitution, which provides for the basic rights of every individual. Prisoners are
informed of their rights when admitted into prison. The basic rules and regulations and
basic rights of the prisoners are pasted in the cells of most of the prisons. In the Adama
Prison, the rights and duties are pasted at the entrance to the men section of the prison.
When prisoners are admitted into a prison, they spend about 15 days in a holding cell, a
cell for new comers. The prisoners’ Reception and Cell Allocation Committee would
then address the newcomers, giving them details about the prison before allocating cells
to them. The Justice Committee would also inform them about their rights and duties as
prisoners.
It is not clear however, whether the inmates are familiar with the prison rules including
their rights as prisoners. Many of them claim they do not know the procedures for
applying for pardon or clemency. Some argue that even though the law requires that after
serving ¾ of one’s sentence, a prisoner can be released, they are never released. Some
prisoners complain about the appeals process, indicating that they would like to appeal
against the decision of the court but do not know how.
The authorities argue that the law regarding pardon is not clear and a new simplified
version is being debated in Parliament. On the issue of parole, the authorities state that
parole is not automatic to all prisoners who have served ¾ of their sentences. Other issues
such as behaviour, possibility of integrating into society etc are taken into account. It
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seemed however, that prisoners are not properly informed about their rights regarding
these matters.
While all the rules and regulations must conform to the constitution, each region adopts
its own rules to maintain law and order in the prisons. Most of the rules and regulations
are consistent with international human rights norms on the treatment of persons deprived
of their liberty.
It is interesting to note that prison authorities do not enforce the rules and regulations of
the prison. Discipline is “self-administered”. The prisoners discipline themselves through
the Prisoners’ Committee.
In each prison, there is a Discipline Committee made up of prisoners themselves, with
members elected by their peers. If a prisoner breaks any of the rules of the prison, the
Prisoners’ Justice Committee would try him or her, and if found guilty, the Prisoners’
Discipline Committee metes out the punishment (such as cleaning the floor, the toilet
etc).
The authorities are not directly involved in discipline. Serious offences like
homosexuality, assault occasioning bodily harm, theft etc are reported to the authorities
who would contact the police to institute an investigation. The accused (the prisoner) is
investigated by the police while in custody and can be taken to court and tried.
If a prisoner is not happy with the decision of the Discipline Committee, he/she can then
bring the matter to the attention of the authorities, the Chief Administrator. This is when
the authorities intervene in the process – to render advice but not to mete out sanctions. It
is however, also possible for a prisoner to by-pass the Committees and report a matter
directly to the authorities. In most cases, the authorities would refer the matter to the
competent Committee.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
V.
Special Complaints
On 16 March 2004, the Special Rapporteur held a Press Conference at the Semien Hotel
in Addis Ababa to inform the general public about the mission and to solicit information
from anyone regarding prison conditions in Ethiopia. After the Press Conference, the
Special Rapporteur was approached with the following complaints –
•
•
•
•
(a)
Mr. Solomon Gabre Kidan
The Gambela detainees presumed disappeared
The existence of secret prisons
The Derg Officials
The case of Mr. Solomon Gabre Kidan
The case of Mr. Kidan was brought to the attention of the Special Rapporteur by his elder
sister. Mr. Kidan, aged about 28 was an inmate in the Addis Ababa prison serving a five
years sentence. He has TB in prison and for some unexplained reason did not take
complete treatment during the initial stages of the disease. As a result, the TB has become
resistant to drugs. Doctors examined him in prison and prescribed drugs that could not be
found in the country. The five drugs prescribed cost more than 50,000 Birr, about US $
6,250.
The prison authorities at the Addis Ababa prison claim they do not have that amount of
money to spend on an individual prisoner as the budget allocated per prisoner per day is
only 3.5 Birr, that is 105 Birr per month or 1260 Birr per year. This money is allocated
for food only and there is no separate allocation for medication since there is a clinic for
medical services. Meantime, Mr. Kidan is still in detention, not receiving any treatment.
Mr. Kidan has been isolated from all the other inmates because of his illness.
The Special Rapporteur met with Mr. Kidan for about an hour and discussed his
condition with him. The Special Rapporteur also met with Mr. Kidan’s family including
his mother. Mr. Kidan’s case was raised with the prison authorities at all levels including
the Vice Minister of Justice. The Special Rapporteur was assured that steps were
underway to provide a comprehensive treatment package for Mr. Kidan and that he
would not be released without being treated.
(b)
The Gambela Detainees
The case of the Gambella detainees was brought to the attention of the Special
Rapporteur by a local human rights NGO. It is alleged by the NGO that the detainees,
arrested more than two years ago following ethnic conflicts in the Gambela Region, have
disappeared, that there is no news from them and that they are not in contact with their
families. The Special Rapporteur raised the matter with government authorities and it
turned out that they were being held in the Addis Ababa prison. During the Special
Rapporteur’s inspection of the Addis Ababa prison, she had a closed door meeting with
20 of the 38 Gambela detainees.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
It was revealed that the detainees had not disappeared but had irregular contacts with
their families since the latter are very far from Addis Ababa. It was also revealed that
their case have been heard by both the Federal High Court and the Federal Supreme
Court in Addis Ababa. Both courts claim they do not have jurisdiction to hear the matter
and referred the matter to the Gambela Regional Court. However, the government
continues to detain them in Addis Ababa claiming they have to be tried by a Federal
Court since their offence – inciting ethnic violence - is a federal offence.
During a session with the Vice Minister of Justice, the Special Rapporteur was informed
that there is a Circuit Court with federal jurisdiction that sits in all the regions and when
this court will sit in the Gambela region, the matter will be heard and dealt with.
(c)
The existence of secret prisons
The Special Rapporteur was also informed by an NGO about the existence of secret or
underground prisons in Ethiopia. The NGO itself is not certain about the claim. When the
Special Rapporteur asked the NGO to be more specific and provide concrete information
where these secret prisons could be found, the NGO only said they could be found any
where. Without any details, the NGO said they are usually government buildings
portrayed as government offices which, according to the NGO, are actually secret prisons
where opponents of the regime are kept. When asked whether they could identify anyone
who had been detained in such prisons, the NGO accepted but said the victims are too
afraid to come forward for fear of reprisals.
The Special Rapporteur however, raised the matter with government authorities who
refuted the allegations and added that there are only three official places where people
could be detained in Ethiopia – the civilian prison, the military prison and the police
stations. Any other detention facility outside these three is illegal.
The Special Rapporteur however urged the authorities to investigate the allegations as
some overzealous politicians may be detaining innocent civilians for personal reasons.
(d)
The detained Derg 6 Officials
The Derg officials are officials of the regime of the former dictator, Mengistu Haile
Mariam. When the latter’s regime was toppled in 1991, many of his supporters and
government employees were arrested and detained. Most of them have been charged with
genocide and crimes against humanity. Many of them have been in detention for over ten
years, some up to thirteen years. They are found in almost all the prisons across the
country but concentrated in two main prisons – the Addis Abba Prison (for top
government officials) and the Kaliti prison (for top military officials).
6
Derg means Council or Committee in Amharic and is usually associated with the Mengistu
regime.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
The Special Rapporteur held a closed door meeting with the Committee Members of the
Derg officials in the Alem bekagn section of the Addis Ababa Prison, and another
meeting with all the officials in the Kaliti prison.
They complain that their trial has been unduly prolonged and say this prolongation is a
deliberate attempt by the government to punish them unnecessarily because, they argue,
the government has no case against them. They note that justice delayed is justice denied.
They also claim that by charging them with genocide, the government is merely trying to
victimise them for political reasons. They argue that there has never been any genocide in
Ethiopia in terms of the UN Genocide Convention.
Government officials claim on their part that the delay in the trial is not deliberate but
rather as a result of the absence of functioning institutions – police, courts, prosecutors,
investigators, judges, etc immediately after the overthrow of Mengistu.
The new regime had no confidence in the institutions of the old regime and so had to
disband every institution to start anew. Thus, to train new judges, police men,
prosecutors, etc took time. Secondly, the prosecutor assembled more than 3000 witnesses
and insisted on cross-examining all of them to prove his case.
The President of the Supreme Court informed the Special Rapporteur that the prosecution
has rested its case and it is the turn of the defence. The authorities assured the Special
Rapporteur that everything is being done to ensure a fair and speedy trial.
The Special Rapporteur made an appeal to the authorities to expedite the process and
ensure its fairness and also to consider the release of some of the officials especially
those that are seriously sick and those that are above 70 years.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
VI.
Good Practices
Generally, prisons in Ethiopia are in good conditions. The relationship between the
prisoners and the prison authorities is good. There is an impression that prisoners believe
that the conditions under which they are living is the best the government can offer and as
such are contented with their conditions. Maybe this belief is informed by the general
level of poverty in the country. Prisoners are also under the impression that whatever
improvements that can be made to their living condition is not within the competence of
the local prison administration but rather the government.
Thus, in all the prisons visited, during the close door meetings with the prisoners, there
were very little complaints about the prison administration. The majority of the
complaints – delays in trial, pardon, clemency, no mattresses etc were directed against
government.
In the midst of all these complaints, the prisoners are generally happy with the way they
are being treated. One reason for this it would seem, is the fact that the prisoners ire
virtually responsible for their wellbeing while in prison. This is done through the through
the Prisoner’s Committees.
(a)
The Prisoners’ Committees
In all the prisons in Ethiopia, there are Prisoners’ Committees. The Committees are
established at all three levels of the prison structure – Cells, Zones and Compounds. At
each level, prisoners elect representatives for each committee. Taking the Addis Ababa
prison for illustration, the prison has a main committee structure for the whole prison
(compound). The prison is divided into six Zones. Each Zone has various committees.
The zones are further divided into cells and each cell has its own committees.
There is thus a hierarchical organisation of committees from the cell to the compound
level, with representatives being elected by the prisoners themselves at each level – from
the cell to the main committee. There are usually ten committees at all levels. This
arrangement is reproduced in all the prisons.
However, depending on the size of the prison population, a prison might not have all the
committees at all level of prison structure. The organisational structure of the committees
at all levels is as follows:
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
(i)
Committees Organisation at Prison (Compound) Level
Chief Administrator
General Assembly of Zonal Prisoners’ Administration
General Committee of Prisoners
Cooperatives Shop Committee
Zone 1
Zone 2
Zone 3
Zone 4
Zone 5
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
Zone 6
(ii)
Committees Organisation at Zonal Level
Zonal Prisoners’ Administration
Audit and Inspections Committee
Food Committee
Health Committee
Justice Committee
Reception and Cells allocation Committee
Education Committee
Job and Training Committee
Discipline Committee
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
Liaison Committee
15 – 29 March 2004
Sports and Entertainment Committee
(iii)
Committees Organisation at Cell Level
Cell Prisoners’ Administration
Food Committee
Health Committee
Justice Committee
Reception and Cells allocation Committee
Education Committee
Job and Training Committee
Discipline Committee
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
Liaison Committee
Sports and Entertainment Committee
The cell is the smallest unit in the Prisoners’ Committee structure. Depending on the size
of the cell, each cell has its own administrative structure made up of committees. The
smaller the cell, the fewer will be the number of inmates and the fewer will be the
number of Committees from the cell. Members of each cell elect from amongst the
prisoners in that cell, members of the various committees who would manage their affairs
and ensured the proper behaviour and wellbeing of all the prisoners in the cell.
The Committee members elected from the cell level represent the cell at the Zonal level.
The Zones have all the committees found at the cell level. Each zone will then elect
representatives to the Main Committee or General Committee of prisoners. This
Committee is also the General Assembly of Zonal Prison Administration. At the top of
this organisation is the Chief Prison Administrator, the only non-elective, non-prisoner
member. The Chief Prison Administrator serves as an ex-officio member.
All matters regarding prisoners’ welfare, from allocation of cells to discipline are handled
by the relevant committees. The prisons are like “independent self administered
communities”. Prisoners have been allocated plots to undertake businesses. In all the
prisons, there are “thriving businesses” – small provision shops, tailors, cafeteria, etc. The
committees engage the authorities to complain on behalf of the prisoners about certain
matters.
The prisoners also have Cooperative Shops for the prisoners’ body as a whole. Income
generated from this shop is saved in the prisoners’ cooperative run by the prisoners. This
money is used to buy items such as soap and other items for prisoners. In the Addis
Ababa prison for example, the committee provides two soaps each to all prisoners
monthly.
When a prisoner is released, a certain fraction of the money is given to him/her.
Individual prisoners can also save their money with the cooperative. The Cooperative
Shop Committee employs prisoners to sell in the shops and they are paid. There is an
Audit Committee which does routine auditing and inspection of the shops to ensure
accountability.
The Committee system seems to be working very well as prisoners deal with their peers
and are hardly “in contact with the authorities” where they can have confrontation.
The Special Rapporteur raised certain concerns about the Committee system. The first is
that, the Committee system has allowed the government to abdicate its responsibility of
providing basic necessities to prisoners. Every aspect of prisoners’ welfare has been left
to the Committees. Secondly, the Committees are not made of experts or professionals in
the various fields, so there is a possibility that things are not managed properly. Even
though the prisoners claim that they try to ensure that persons with certain background
are elected to a particular committee, they also concede that at times they have to do
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
without professionals. This can be very harmful to the rehabilitation process. The
Committee members know very little about rehabilitation and are more concern about
their personal welfare. Third, there are very few women on most of the Committees. This
might explain why women issues are not given attention. Fourth, the Committee system
may also lead to corruption. It may encourage some prison authorities to withhold money
meant for prisoners because they assume the Committees will deal with everything. If
this succeeds, the authority might use the money for his/her personal business.
These shortcomings notwithstanding, the Committee system seems to be an interesting
system to experiment in other African prisons. Caution must however be taken not to
overburden the prisoners and allow the state to relinquish its responsibility.
(b)
Relationship with civil society
The Special Rapporteur also observed the good working relationship that exists between
NGOs, the prison authorities and the prisoners. In all the prisons visited, the authorities
are receiving assistance from at least one NGO. Almost all the prisons visited have
received assistance or a promise of assistance from the ICRC. Apart from the ICRC, local
NGOs such as the Prison Fellowship, the Ethiopian Red Cross, the Forum for Street
Children, Ethiopia and the Catholic Mission have been assisting prisoners in various
ways. Some NGOs however, think the cooperation between the authorities and civil
society could be better and urge the authorities to be more open than they already are.
The Special Rapporteur encouraged prison authorities to try to work with all members of
civil society, especially NGOs and grant them regular access to prisons so that they can
make objective and constructive criticisms of the penal system. She also urged NGOs to
support the efforts of the government and make constructive criticisms where necessary
and concrete proposals as well.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
VII.
Conclusions and Recommendations
The Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners adopted and proclaimed by United
Nations General Assembly resolution 45/111 on 14 December 1990 provides in
paragrapg 5 that:
except for those limitations that are demonstrably necessitated by the fact
of incarceration, all prisoners shall retain the human rights and
fundamental freedoms set out in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, and, where the State concerned is a party, the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Optional Protocol thereto,
as well as such other rights as are set out in other United Nations
covenants.
Endorsing this philosophy in 1992, the United Nations Human Rights Committee
explained that states have "a positive obligation toward persons who are particularly
vulnerable because of their status as persons deprived of liberty" and stated that:
[N]ot only may persons deprived of their liberty not be subjected to
[torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment],
including medical or scientific experimentation, but neither may they be
subjected to any hardship or constraint other than that resulting from the
deprivation of liberty; respect for the dignity of such persons must be
guaranteed under the same conditions as for that of free persons. Persons
deprived of their liberty enjoy all the rights set forth in the [ICCPR],
subject to the restrictions that are unavoidable in a closed environment 7
More significantly, the Human Rights Committee has also stressed that the obligation to
treat persons deprived of their liberty with dignity and humanity is a fundamental and
universally applicable rule, not dependent on the material resources available to the state
party, 8 thus a country cannot invoke the lack of resources as an excuse for denying
prisoners or other individuals the enjoyment of their basic rights.
Ethiopia has ratified several international human rights instruments including
Declarations and basic documents dealing with the treatment of persons deprived of their
liberty. She is therefore bound by the provisions of these instruments and should take
practical measures to ensure that they are respected.
7
U.N. Human Rights Committee, General Comment 21, paragraph 3. The Human Rights
Committee provides authoritative interpretations of the ICCPR though the periodic issuance of
General Comments.
8
Ibid., paragraph 4; see also Mukong v. Cameroon (communication No. 458/1991) (August 10,
1994), U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/51/D/458/1991 (stating that minimum requirements regarding floor
space, sanitary facilities, provision of food, [medicine and other basic amenities] etc., must be
observed, "even if economic or budgetary considerations may make compliance with these
obligations difficult").
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
Ethiopia is one of the largest countries in Africa both in terms of land mass and
population. The Special Rapporteur’s mission to Ethiopia was undertaken in just eleven
working days and this took her to five out of the eleven regions. It was therefore not
possible to visit all the regions and all the detention facilities within the time available.
However, the Special Rapporteur is convinced that the five regions and different
detention facilities visited present a general picture of the prison situation in Ethiopia and
the recommendations that follow should apply to all prisons and detention facilities in the
country.
The recommendations have been divided into different sections to indicate the role of
each section of society, a reminder that enhancing the conditions of persons deprived of
their liberty has to be a collective exercise. The Special Rapporteur therefore urges
cooperation between the different sectors of society to ensure proper implementation of
these recommendations.
(i)
Recommendations to the Government of Ethiopia
There is a general expression of good political will in government, at both federal and
regional level, to improve the conditions of persons deprived of their liberty. This is
manifested in the development of government policies and engagement of donors in
promoting the welfare of prisoners. The African Commission would like to encourage
government to continue on this footing and in particular, to:
a)
increase the budget allocation to prisons to ensure that prisoners are able to be
provided with the basic necessities such as blankets, mattresses, soaps and
other provisions for hygiene;
b)
ensure that prisons are regularly inspected by government officials and
independent bodies such as NGOs and National Human Rights Institutions or
Ombudsmen;
c)
Develop a proper curriculum for the training of prison staff. This curriculum
should include basic human rights, international norms on the treatment of
offenders etc. Police officers recruited to guard prisoners should also undergo
specific training besides the police training. The government might want to
seek assistance from the ICRC, Penal Reform International and UN Agencies
which have sufficient experience in curriculum development and training for
prison officials;
d)
To tackle the problem of overcrowding, government should explore the
possibility of encouraging small claims courts or courts for petty crimes.
Alternative sentences to incarceration such as community service should also
be explored and encouraged. This will go a long way to decongesting the
prisons and not disrupt the social lives of those who commit minor offences;
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
e)
Efforts should also be made to separate convicted criminals from suspects.
Urgent measures should also be taken to separate juveniles from adults.
Special facilities should be established in all regions to take care of juveniles
at odds with the law. Incarceration is not the best option for juveniles
especially in prisons where they do not continue with their education.
Therefore, borstal institutions and reformation centres should be established in
all the regions. Juvenile courts should also be established in the regions;
f)
Steps should be taken to expedite investigations and prosecution of cases in
order to ensure justice. Justice delayed is justice denied. The speedier the trial
process, the lesser will be the burden on the state because when more
detainees are released the number of inmates to be cared for by the state is
reduced;
g)
The government should permit prison authorities to use proceeds from prison
farms and other income generating activities to improve the welfare of
prisoners rather than send the money to government coffers. However,
appropriate accounting procedures should be put in place to ensure that the
money is not misused by the authorities;
h)
Expectant and nursing mothers including elderly people of more than seventy
years old should not be sent to prison;
i)
Urgent efforts should be made to erase the discrimination of women especially
in the process of rehabilitation. Vocational training facilities should be
established for both men and women and where there isn’t enough space to
establish separate facilities; both men and women should be trained in shifts;
j)
The procedure for granting pardon and clemency should be simplified and
explained to both the prison staff and prisoners;
k)
Government should encourage periodic inter-regional staff exchanges and
organise workshops to train prison officials on latest prison policies and
management techniques. If this workshop is organised at national level, efforts
should be made to replicate the same at regional level;
l)
The government should ensure that persons detained in police stations are held
under humane conditions. Reasonable allocations should therefore be made
for the upkeep of such persons until they are transferred to prison;
m)
The government should organise a national conference involving all the stake
holders in the criminal justice system – the police, the prosecutors, the prison
officials and the judiciary. NGOs and other members of civil society working
in this sector should also be involved in the conference;
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
n)
(ii)
Prisoners should be provided with uniforms.
Recommendations to civil society
a)
Members of civil society, especially NGOs should constantly visit prisons and
other places of detention to ensure that the government is meeting its domestic
as well as international human rights obligations towards persons deprived of
their liberty;
b)
Civil society and NGOs in particular should monitor government’s
compliance with its international human rights obligations, including
monitoring implementation of these recommendations;
c)
NGOs should encourage short courses and workshops for prison officials and
bring to their attention best practices in prison management from other penal
systems in Africa and around the world;
d)
NGOs should also support the efforts of government by assisting in promoting
the welfare of prisoners – provision of blankets, soaps, and other basic
facilities.
(iii)
Recommendations to prison authorities
a)
Prison officials should be more involved in monitoring the welfare of
prisoners and not leave matters to the committees. Rehabilitation and effective
reintegration should be the cardinal role of any prison. The role of a prison
official must be to ensure that prisoners released have been rehabilitated
enough to be integrated into society. The official’s role is not limited to
ensuring the prisoner does not escape;
b)
Complaints of abuse should be investigated and dealt with so as not to
encourage impunity;
c)
Prison authorities, the police and the judiciary should meet regularly to
discuss ways of enhancing the criminal justice system;
d)
Sick prisoners should be given complete and urgent treatment.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
(iv)
Recommendations to donors and the international community
a)
The donor and international community should continue their support to the
prison sector in Ethiopia. Emphasis should be placed on staff training,
curriculum development and the establishment of programmes that would
emphasise prisoners’ rehabilitation and reintegration into society;
b)
The donor community should also encourage exchange programmes or study
tours for prison officials;
c)
The donor community should support government’s efforts in research on
areas such as alternative forms of punishment and community service
programmes, etc.
(v)
Other recommendations
a)
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia should submit its initial report
in conformity with Article 62 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’
Rights;
b)
The Government should also report on the extent to which it has implemented
the above recommendations;
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
VIII
Annexure
a) Press Statement at the beginning of the Mission
PRESS
STATEMENT
The Secretariat of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights informs the
general public that the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in
Africa, Commissioner Dr. Vera Chirwa has been invited by the Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia to inspect prisons and other places of detention in the country.
The Special Rapporteur is a prison monitoring mechanism of the African Commission on
Human and Peoples’ Rights established in 1996 to among other things, promote and
protect the rights of persons deprived of their liberty, inspect prisons and other places of
detention and advise states on appropriate means to improve their penal systems. Since
1996, the Special Rapporteur has undertaken visits to eleven African countries and made
pertinent recommendations to the relevant state authorities on how to effectively protect
the rights of persons deprived of their liberty.
The visit to Ethiopia is scheduled to take place from 15 – 29 March 2004. During the visit
the Special Rapporteur plans to hold talks with high ranking government officials and
decision makers, especially those dealing with penal and penitentiary reforms in the
country. The Special Rapporteur will also meet with local NGOs and other relevant
individuals and institutions working in the country in the area of human rights in general
and prisons in particular.
A very important part of the Special Rapporteurs mission will be visits to prisons and
places of detention in the country, which will include meetings with detainees and
prisoners and discussions with junior prison officials.
The Special Rapporteur invites journalists to a Press Conference to be held at the end of
the mission on 29 March 2004 beginning from 10:00am at a venue to be announced later.
For further information, please contact
Mr. Moussa Gandega
Press and Information Officer
ACHPR
PO Box 673
Banjul, The Gambia
Tel: 220 392 962
Fax: 220 390 764
E-mail: press.officer@achpr.org
Done in Banjul, The Gambia on 15 March 2004
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
b)
Press Statement issued at the end of the mission
PRESS
STATEMENT
On the invitation by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the African
Commission’s Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa,
Commissioner Dr. Vera M Chirwa undertook a mission to Ethiopia from 15 – 29 March
2004 to, among other things; inspect prisons and other places of detention in the country.
The Special Rapporteur was accompanied by her assistant, Mr. Robert W Eno, from the
Secretariat of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The Special Rapporteur visited and inspected nine prisons, two prison farms and two
police stations in five regions of the country. These include –
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Addis Ababa Prison
Kaliti Prison
Ziway Prison
Awasa Prison
Arba Minch Prison
Adama Prison
Dippo Prison
Dire Dawa Prison
Harar Prison
Ziway Prison Farm
Arba Minch Prison Farm
Awasa Woreda Police Station
Adama Woreda I Police Station
Prior to the inspections, the Special Rapporteur met and discussed with government
officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice, Information as well as with
members of the civil society, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, the
Ethiopian Human Rights Council, the Forum of Street Children of Ethiopia and the
Prison Fellowship Ethiopia.
During the inspections, the Special Rapporteur met with heads of the different institutions
visited and had discussions on among other things, the treatment of persons deprived of
their liberty, the major constraints faced in the execution of their duties, staff training, etc.
The Special Rapporteur, together with officials of their respective institutions inspected
the detention facilities – prison and police cells, kitchens, toilets, clinics, drug store,
vocational training centres, etc. Where the Special Rapporteur identifies issues that fell
below internationally recognised standards, on-the-spot recommendations especially on
issues that she deemed were within the powers of the official to put right, were made.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
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The Special Rapporteur addressed detainees in all the detention facilities visited and held
private discussions with some detainees whose cases had been brought to her attention
after the Press Conference held on 16 March 2004 to inform the general public about the
mission. These cases include the following:
-
Mr. Solomon Gabre Kidan, an inmate in the Addis Ababa Prison suffering from
Tuberculosis;
The detainees from Gambela who were alleged by some NGOs to have
disappeared; and
Members of the Derg (former) regime accused of genocide and crimes against
humanity.
Detainees informed the Special Rapporteur on their general conditions of detention, their
relationship with the prison authorities and made suggestions on how their conditions of
detention could be improved.
After visiting detention facilities in the country, the Special Rapporteur observed the
following:
a
Positive
-
There is generally a good relationship between the authorities and the inmates.
There was very few cases of abuse by the officials;
-
Most of the problems raised or identified were not within the powers of the
officials in the respective detention facilities to correct but rather within the
powers of the political (government) authorities both at regional and federal level;
-
There was sufficient separation of male inmates from female inmates and female
guards were guarding the female sections;
-
There was a demonstrable political will to improve conditions of detention
expressed at both federal and regional levels of government;
-
The establishment of prison farms and vocational training centres in most prisons
provided the possibilities for reformation and rehabilitation;
-
The establishment of prisoners’ committees managed by prisoners themselves
provided prisoners with an opportunity to manage their affairs and be involved in
their own welfare;
-
There was a good working relationship with the donor community.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
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b Negative
-
There was overcrowding and most of the detention centres visited – the
only exception was Dire Dawa Prison. It must be noted also that most of
the prisons were never built for that purpose and were simply converted
into prisons. Thus there is no indication of how many persons a particular
prison was meant to accommodate;
-
There was generally poor sanitation especially in the police stations;
-
There was no separation of juveniles from adult inmates in both the male
and female sections. There was also no separation between awaiting
trialists and convicted prisoners;
-
There was inadequate training for prison staff;
-
There was inadequate educational and recreation facilities in prisons.
Some prisons had no schools, no vocational training and no recreational
facilities;
-
There are usually delays in the trial process. In all the prisons there were
indications that the overcrowding was caused by the long delay in the trial
and the fact that suspects are too poor to raise money for bail. In some
prisons, such as Addis Ababa Prison, more than 70% of the inmates had
not been sentenced;
-
There was also an indication of inadequate funding to prisons from
government. The budget per prisoner per day is 3.5 Birr (about 0.406 US
Dollars) at Federal level and 2 Birr ( about 0.204 US Dollars) at regional
level;
-
Prisoners are not provided with uniforms – except when out for training or
for work;
-
There is no uniformity in the treatment of prisoners in all the regions,
especially between the federal and regional prisons.
At the end of the inspections, the Special Rapporteur held another round of talks with
government officials to inform them of her findings and make preliminary
recommendations especially on those issues that needed immediate attention. To this end,
the Special Rapporteur met with the following officials:
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
-
The President of the Federal Supreme Court;
The Vice Minister of Justice;
The State Minister of Women’s Affairs in the Prime Minister’s Office;
The Director and First Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and
The Chief Administrator in the Federal Prisons Commission.
Some of these preliminary recommendations included – considering the release of
persons above the age of 70 and persons who are seriously sick; the provision of adequate
medical treatment for all persons under the custody of the state and the provision of
special dietary meals for nursing mothers, expectant mothers, children and the sick;
increase the budget allocation to prisons and ensure the supply of basic items such as
detergents, blankets and mattresses.
The final report of the Special Rapporteur’s mission to Ethiopia, including detailed
recommendations shall be prepared and published in due course.
We hope this relationship of dialogue and cooperation between the Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights shall
continue and be mutually beneficial not only in the field of prisons but on human rights
generally.
For further information, please contact
Mr. Moussa Gandega
Press and Information Officer
ACHPR
PO Box 673
Banjul, The Gambia
Tel: 220 4392 962
Fax: 220 4390 764
E-mail: press.officer@achpr.org or
Robert Wundeh Eno at wundeh@hotmail.com
Done in Addis Ababa, 29th March 2004
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
3.
Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of Detention
in Africa
Mandate
1.
In accordance with its mandate under Article 45 of the African Charter on Human
and Peoples’ Rights (the Charter) the African Commission on Human and Peoples’
Rights (The Commission) hereby establishes the position of Special Rapporteur on
Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa.
2.
The Special Rapporteur is empowered to examine the situation of persons deprived
of their liberty within the territories of States Parties to the African Charter on
Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Methods of work
The Special Rapporteur shall
3.1
examine the state of the prisons and conditions of detention in Africa and make
recommendations with a view to improving them;
3.2
advocate adherence to the Charter and international human rights norms and
standards concerning the rights and conditions of persons deprived of their
liberty, examine the relevant national law and regulations in the respective States
Parties as well as their implementation and make appropriate recommendations on
their conformity with the Charter and with international law and standards;
3.3
at the request of the Commission, make recommendations to it as regards
communications filed by individuals who have been deprived of their liberty, their
families, representatives, by NGOs or other concerned persons or institutions;
3.4
Propose appropriate urgent action.
4.
The Special Rapporteur shall conduct studies into conditions or situations
contributing to human rights violations of prisons deprived of their liberty and
recommend preventive measures. The Special Rapporteur shall co-ordinate
activities with other relevant Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups of the
African Commission and United Nations.
5.
The Special Rapporteur shall submit an annual report to the Commission. The
report shall be published and widely disseminated in accordance with the relevant
provisions of the Charter.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
Means of implementing the mandate
The Special Rapporteur shall seek and receive information from States Parties to the
Charter, individuals, national and international organisations and institutions as well as
other relevant bodies on cases or situations which fall within the scope of the mandate
described above.
In order to discharge his/her mandate effectively the Special Rapporteur should be given
all the necessary assistance and co-operation to carry out on-site visits and receive
information from individuals who have been deprived of their liberty, their families or
representatives, from governmental or non governmental organisations and individuals.
The Special Rapporteur shall seek co-operation with States Parties and assurance from
the latter that persons, organisations or institutions rendering or providing information to
the Special Rapporteur shall not be prejudiced thereby.
Duration of the mandate
This mandate will last for an initial period of two years which may be renewed by the
Commission.
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
4.
No.
List of persons contacted during the mission
Name
Institution
Position
1
Gifti Abasiya
2.
3.
Ato Berhane Amakelew
Kemal Bedre Kelo
Office of the Prime
Minister
Ministry of Justice
Federal Supreme
Court of Ethiopia
State Minister of
Women’s Affairs
Vice Minister
President
4.
Idris Ibrahim
Director
5.
Zenebe Kebede
6.
Berhane Melka
Ministry of Foreign
Affairs
Ministry of Foreign
Affairs
Ministry of Federal
Affairs
7.
Marco Brudermann
8.
Lemi Daba
9.
Fedu Mareem
International
Committee of the Red
Cross
Prison Fellowship
11. Ewnetu Akama
Forum on Street
Children
Forum on Street
Children
Ministry of Justice
12. Ketchew Zetu
Ministry of Justice
13. Alemayehu Wook
Ministry of Justice
14. Shemelis Kemal
Ethiopian
Broadcasting
10. Amakelew Cherkosie
Tel
55 77 94 or
55 20 44
Fax
55 29 86
56 55 80
55 02 78
fedjud@telecom.net.et
Post Box
1031 Addis Ababa
6166 Addis Ababa
www.etcourts.org
First Secretary
Chief
Administrator
Federal Prison
Administration
Head of Delegation
55 74 64
55 06 30
prisonadmin@telecom.net.et
2237 Addis Ababa
51 83 66
51 31 61
addis_abeba_add@icrc.org
5701 Addis Ababa
Deputy Director
16 62 20
20 43 22
Co-Director
53 44 32
53 44 69
14220 Addis
Ababa
9562 Addis Ababa
Co-Director
53 44 32
53 44 69
Prison.eth@telecom.net.et or
lemidaba@yahoo.com
FSCE@telecom.net.et or
crdc@telecom.net.et
FSCE@telecom.net.et or
crdc@telecom.net.et
Head of Criminal
Department
Head of
Department
Public Relations
Officer
General Manager
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
Contact
E-mail
15 – 29 March 2004
9562 Addis Ababa
15. Ambachew Semma
16. Adam Melaku
17. Prof. Mesfin
Corporation
Ethiopian Human
Rights Council
Ethiopian Human
Rights Council
18. Abiy Abebe
Ethiopian Human
Rights Council
Addis Ababa Prison
19. Shuferaw Asgedom
20. Selume Ebhete
Addis Ababa Prison
Addis Ababa Prison
21. Afewalci Teferi
Addis Ababa Prison
22. Yesus Kitacha
23. Miheret Desta
Dire Dawa Prison
Dire Dawa Prison
24. Abdul Letif
25. Torba Toga
26. Ali Elias
Kaliti Prison
Awasa Prison
SNNPR
27. Deresa Shashegu
28. Sofonias Desta
29. Alije Olmer
Awasa Wereda Police
Station
Arba Minch Prison
Oromo Region
30. Obbo Urgessa
Oromo Region
31. Daniel Gselasie
Prison Fellowship
32
Sandra Dessimot
ICRC
33
Pierre Gentile
ICRC
Secretary General
Executive
Committee
Member
Executive Director
Chief
Administrator
Health Service
Head of Correction
and Rehabilitation
Head of Security
Guards
Legal Adviser
Deputy
Administrator
Administrator
Administrator
Chief Prison
Administrator SNNPR
Deputy
Commissioner
Administrator
Prison
Commissioner
Deputy Security
and Administration
Director
228 207
505 236
16 62 20
PO Box 2436
Addis Ababa
20 43 22
Protection
Delegate
Protection
Coordinator
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004
Prison.eth@telecom.net.et or
gselasie@yahoo.com
14220 Addis
Ababa
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Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia
15 – 29 March 2004