April 24/2008

  DEPROTEES FROM THE SUDAN HELD IN INHUMANE CONDITION

14 of those deported from the Sudan ( the fifteenth,elder Atanaw Wassie, is being held in a secret location) are suffering cruel and inhuman treatment in cell 07 of kaliti prison, Addis Ababa.

 Reliabel reports reaching SOCEPP reveal that these deportees are being held incommunicado and have been denied medical care. All of them are still dressed in the jellabiya dress given to them by their Sudanese jailers in Khartoum. These same reports also reveal that the 15 deportees were taken back to Ethiopia by EPRDF top official Adisu Legese who was in the Sudan to finalize the deal to hand over Ethiopian land to the Sudanese. Presently, Sudan is officially ocuupying Ethiopian land and has hindered Ethiopian peasants from reaching the Shinfa river itself. In the meantime. elder Atanaw Wassie's whereabouts remains a secret though there are reports that the EPRDF is hounding him to sign a confession and to demand pardon from PM Meles Zenawi.

 At present, the life of refugees in the Sudan continues to be full of danger and mistreatment. The UNHCR has failed to fulfill its role and mission and is not properly and fully protecting the refugees. The official protest over the deportation of the 15 remains weak or absent. SOCEPP calls on prison obervatory bodies and human rights organizations to call for the end of the cruel teatment of the deportees and for their immediate release. Steps should also be taken to protect the refugees in the Sudan.

SOCEPP