Ethiopia: Opposition party leader Mideksa re-arrested

Judge Birtukan Mideksa, head of an opposition party in Ethiopia and a truly inspiring figure who is a staunch advocate of human rights, was re-arrested following her refusal to comply with a demand by the Ethiopian government that she revoke a statement she made disclosing that her prior release was not based on a formal legal pardon, but rather a politically negotiated settlement. Judge Mideksa was imprisoned in December 2008.

Judge Birtukan Mideksa, head of an opposition party in Ethiopia and a truly inspiring figure who is a staunch advocate of human rights, was re-arrested following her refusal to comply with a demand by the Ethiopian government that she revoke a statement she made disclosing that her prior release was not based on a formal legal pardon, but rather a politically negotiated settlement. Judge Mideksa was imprisoned in December 2008. She has since been held in solitary confinement, denied access to legal counsel in contravention of generally accepted human rights standards and she is at risk if not already exposed to abuse at the hands of prison guards. This torture is in addition to the psychological trauma of being separated from her four-year-old daughter and her elderly mother who is forced to care for the child.

This most recent arrest follows Judge Mideksa’s release from prison in 2007 after serving two years on politically motivated charges that generated outcry from the international community. In the days and weeks following her recent arrest, there was much discussion regarding Judge Mideksa’s case. Amnesty International, World Organization Against Torture (L’Organisation Mondiale Contre La Torture—OMCT), the Government of Sweden along with the European Union Parliament have condemned the arrest and have called for her immediate release. Nonetheless, she remains in prison and her situation is deteriorating daily.

Senators Leahy, Feingold, Isakson and Durbin as well as Representative Donald Payne have already called for Judge Mideksa’s release. Attached are their statements and letters.

The human rights situation as a whole continues to deteriorate in Ethiopia and her case is but one illustration of the suffering endured by the eighty million inhabitants of that nation.

If individuals are interested in getting the word out her case and joining with other women determined to do the same, please ask them to contact Ethiopian Women’s Human Rights Alliance at [email][email protected]