Maria Burnett (HRW): “Hopefully today’s arrest of Abdi Illey is a start to justice for victims of serious crimes in Ethiopia’s Somali region.”

We wanted to share a quote with you regarding today’s arrest of former president of Somali Regional State, Abdi Mohamoud Omar, and flag a press statement from last week which summarizes our key concerns from past research into human rights abuses in the region.

Here is a quote, which can be attributed to Maria Burnett, Associate director, Africa division:

“Hopefully, today’s arrest of Abdi Illey is a start to justice for victims of serious crimes in Ethiopia’s Somali region. Other officials who directed and supported abuses, including crimes against humanity and war crimes, should also be held to account. The federal authorities should ensure that prosecutions are transparent, rigorous and fair and that victims and witnesses can testify without fear of reprisals.”

And here is our press release from last week on justice in SRS: https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/08/20/ethiopia-probe-years-abuse-somali-region

our report on Jail Ogaden: https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/07/04/we-are-dead/torture-and-other-human-rights-abuses-jail-ogaden-somali-regional

and our 2008 report on crimes against humanity and war crimes in the region: https://www.hrw.org/report/2008/06/12/collective-punishment/war-crimes-and-crimes-against-humanity-ogaden-area-ethiopias

Thank you very much,

best wishes

Laetitia

HRW