Update on Muluneh 2
Still no word from him. Confusion all round. Prison sources informed me that he might be at a risk of torture. The government was emboldened to take such a decision as Muluneh, despite his position, kept profile low. Please act now. Write to embassies in Addis.
The following is a report by Action Group For Muluneh
Muluneh is not dead!! Let's act together as indicated in our letter to you all. Muluneh is not dead.....below is the true story!!Dear Friends, We're writing this to you so that you could contribute to fighting injustice at least by forwarding this to the people you know. The 31-year-old Muluneh Eyoel who is the CUD's (the main opposition party in Ethiopia) executive committee member and the general secretary of the party had been arrested – as most of you would know – and put in Kality jail among the other leaders of the Party. He came to the leadership of the CUD when the four parties who ran under the umbrella of CUD (Coalition for Unity and Democracy) in the disputed election decided to merge and form a party called Kinijit (CUD) Party. Muluneh did his first degree in Economics at the Addis Ababa University. He used to work in a bank, then as an area manager in an NGO (known as KMG that works among the women of Kembata), then as a consultant to UNICEF before he was arrested in November 2005. He hails from the Southern part of Ethiopia and is a mix of Kembata and Hadya. These people are among those who have been rebelling against the dictatorship of the pretentious democratic regime. He, among his fellow political prisoners, has been showing a bold face in jail as well as in 'court' where a farce trial has been taking place. He made his point in jail to wear T-shirts with words imprinted on them that one way or another speak of the CUDP – phrases such as "Believe Kinjit (the popular name for the CUD in Amharic)", 'Victory for Kinjit', etc. (The political prisoners do not wear uniforms in the Kality jail). One of the days in last week, he was ordered not to wear such t-shirts by the prison officials. He protested and defied the order because he believed that he had the right to wear that t-shirt. His fellow prisoners (the likes of Dr. Berhanu Nega) also joined in the protest. In the early hours of Saturday (the 8th of April) morning – at around 6 am, he was taken to unidentified place. When his family members and friends went to visit him in the afternoon, they were told that he had been transferred to another prison called 'Kerchele'. They went to this prison and passed food and water. When they went to see him again this morning, the food was returned to them. We do not know for sure whether he's on hunger strike or in that prison. The ruthless officials may do anything. We would like to request you – whether an Ethiopian or a foreigner – to take up his case with you so that his whereabouts would be revealed and his family members and friend would be allowed to visit him. You may do one or more of the following things: Please forward this mail to the people you know. Please include this e-mail address so that we could follow. The foreigners who live in Ethiopia may take up his case with their embassies and consulates so that a diplomatic pressure could be put on the regime. Those who live outside of this country – Ethiopians and foreigners alike – can stage demonstrations and hold different vigils (like candle lighting). You may ask anything by directly mailing to this address. The reason why we BCC everybody is to protect the recipients from a possible crackdown by the regime. Let's contribute our part to fighting injustice. Best regards, Action Group For Muluneh