Adefris Ababu Belongs to London

Adefris Ababu from Ethiopia was detained by the UK Border Agency in London when he went to report on Monday 14th April. He is currently in Haslar IRC due to be forcibly removed from the UK to Ethiopia on Wednesday 14th of May at 21:35 hrs on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET701 to Addis Ababa.

Adefris has been living in the UK for nearly 14 years without any connection to Ethiopia. He is a working/taxpayer and not dependant on public resources and has no criminal record. He has got a lot of friends and has contributed a lot to UK economy and voluntary organizations. During his 14 years living in the UK, he has been reporting to Immigration monthly with out fail.

Adefris first come to UK on 24th of October 1994 and claimed Asylum on 27th October 1994. He feared persecution in Ethiopia because of his Amhara ethnicity particularly because he was detained and harassed for his brother's involvement in the then AAPO (All Amhara People Organization) now enlarged and named CUD (Coalition for Unity and Democracy -Kinijit) and EPRP (Ethiopian People Revolutionary Party), which is still outlawed by the Ethiopian government. He was under surveillance and being asked about the whereabouts of his brothers since the whereabouts of both were unknown (he has learnt now that one of his brothers was imprisoned by the Ethiopian government security forces in 2005 and then killed). Adefris became an active member in the outlawed EPRP and also a member of a team who are launching the banned website called DEBTERAW. Adefris is also an active member of the UK branch of Ethiopian People Revolutionary Party (EPRP) - a party whose members in the previous and present governments of Ethiopia killed thousands and that has a long history of enmity with the present government starting 15 years before it came into power.

His application for asylum was initially refused after waiting 7 years for initial decision. Adefris then appealed against the decision and has to wait for another 3 years to get another decision. His appeal was allowed on humanitarian grounds, which was later overturned since the Home Office appealed against the Adjudicators decision. Again this year last month, Adefris submitted a fresh application indicating his active membership of the EPRP. However, the Home Office refused his application on the grounds that his participation will not be known to the Ethiopian government and further stated that the Home Office decided not to reverse on the earlier claim and have determined that the last representation did not amount to a fresh claim.

We believe that if Adefris is returned to Ethiopia the government will persecute him. There are still thousands of political prisoners languishing in Ethiopian prison who opposed the government during the 2005 election. It is normal for government forces to imprison torture and kill. This is a fact confirmed by Amnesty International, Human Right Watch, USA State Department, and Solidarity for Ethiopian Political Prisoners (SOCEPP), Ethiopian Human Right Council (EHRC), Ethiopian Revolutionary Party (EPRP), etc reports and statements.

U.S.A. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Ethiopia 2007
Human rights abuses reported during the year included: limitation on citizens' right to change their government during the most recent elections; unlawful killings, and beating, abuse, and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces; poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of those suspected of sympathizing with or being members of the opposition or insurgent groups; detention of thousands without charge and lengthy pretrial detention; infringement on citizens' privacy rights and frequent refusal to follow the law regarding search warrants; use of excessive force by security services in an internal conflict and counter-insurgency operations; restrictions on freedom of the press; arrest, detention, and harassment of journalists for publishing articles critical of the government; restrictions on freedom of assembly; limitations on freedom of association; violence and societal discrimination against women and abuse of children; female genital mutilation (FGM); exploitation of children for economic and sexual purposes; trafficking in persons; societal discrimination against persons with disabilities and religious and ethnic minorities; and government interference in union activities, including killing and harassment of union leaders.

Friends of Adefris Ababu

What you can do to help!
Please send urgent faxes immediately to Rt. Hon. Jacqui Smith, Secretary of State for the Home Office asking that Adefris Ababu be granted protection in the UK. Please download "model letter" (AdefrisAbabuJS.doc) you can copy/amend/write your own version (if you do so, please remember to include the HO ref: R1147269).

Fax: 020 8760 3132(00 44 20 8760 3132 if you are faxing from outside UK)

Please notify the Campaign of any faxes/emails sent:
Adefris Ababu Campagn
teshome@gmail.com
Tel : 077 9667 3905

Source for this Page:
Adefris Ababu Campagn