Olympian Feyisa Lilesa listed in FP's 2016 Top 100 global thinkers

By Foreign Policy
December 13, 2016

WASHINGTON, DC - Ethiopian Olympic medalist Feyisa Lilesa has been listed as one of the 100 global thinkers in 2016.

The following story was released by the Foreign Policy:

"Given the fact that the Olympic Charter bans political propaganda, demonstrations are a rarity at the games. Nevertheless, Ethiopian runner Feyisa Lilesa snubbed the rulebook in order to call attention to the brutal actions of his country&rsquo;s security forces. As the marathoner approached the finish line in second place, he crossed his arms over his head - an attention-grabbing gesture to show solidarity with his Oromo tribe. In the weeks before the race, the Ethiopian government had cracked down on protests by the embattled indigenous group and killed dozens. &ldquo;If I would&rsquo;ve taken my medal and went back to Ethiopia, that would&rsquo;ve been the biggest regret of my life,&rdquo; Lilesa, who hasn&rsquo;t yet returned home, told the Associated Press. &ldquo;I wanted to be a voice for a story that wasn&rsquo;t getting any coverage.&rdquo;</p>

CBC RADIO: What was reported then

On the final day of the Rio Olympics, Ethiopian marathoner Feyisa Lilesabecame a silver medalist. Lilesa crossed the finish line with arms raised above his head, and crossed over each other, as in an "X" — a political gesture instantly recognized in Ethiopia.
Lilesa says the symbol of defiance was a peaceful protest against how the Oromo people of Ethiopia have been treated by the government. Close to 100 people were slaughtered in a protest just weeks before the Olympics.
Since his protest on the world's stage, Lilesa tells The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti through a translator that he's worried about his safety if he were to return home.
"Having done this, going back to Ethiopia means suicide. They will kill me. If not killing, they will imprison me and torture me," says Lilesa who is still in Rio.
Lilesa feels it is important to stand up publicly and expose the repression of the Oromo people by the Ethiopian government. He tells Tremonti that "people are dying, being killed, being sent to refugee camps… many thousands were in the red sea running away from the country. People were having peaceful demonstrations but being killed."

Ethiopia: detained journalist missing, denied access to family and medical care

EHRI News Release
December 13, 2016


Ethiopian authorities should immediately disclose the location of Temesgen Desalegn, who was jailed on spurious charges two years ago, and give him access to medical care, said the Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE) and DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project) today.

Temesgen Desalegn is serving a three-year sentence in Ziway prison on charges of defamation, incitement, and false publication. However, relatives have attempted to visit him for seven consecutive days, and been told by Ziway prison administration officials that his location is unknown. His relatives reported that they had not seen him since 7 November.

On 12 December, a Ziway prison official speaking on the condition of anonymity told a journalist from Deutsche Welle’s Amharic service that Temesgen was at the prison.

 However, one relative who attempted to visit him today was told by prison officials that he was not there, and that they do not know his whereabouts.

One of Temesgen’s relatives told AHRE that they have been travelling 160km from the capital Addis Ababa to Ziway prison to visit him, and that since the State of Emergency was declared on October 8 their visiting time has been reduced from 40 to 8 minutes.

“It is unacceptable that after two years of detention in Ethiopia’s insalubrious and overcrowded prison system, authorities are unable or unwilling to provide Temesgen’s relatives with information on his whereabouts,” said Yared Hailemariam, Executive Director of AHRE.

 “We are extremely concerned about Temesgen’s poor health and urge the Ethiopian authorities to immediately disclose his location and give him access to medical care.”

While in detention, sources close to Temesgen reported that he was being denied access to medical attention. He told visitors that he was suffering from stomach problems and back pain and having difficulties walking. Recently, he told relatives he had become deaf in one ear after complaining of pain for six months and being refused treatment.

The owner of Amharic-language weekly newspaper Feteh, which means Justice, was arrested and convicted in October 2014 in a case stemming from a series of opinion pieces published in 2012. Feteh was closed and 30,000 copies of the newspaper were seized in July 2012 when the paper was accused of being “detrimental to the country’s national security”.

The Information Minister at the time of his conviction, Redwan Hussien, told CPJ that the case was related to news articles discussing the peaceful struggle of Ethiopian youth movements and expressing criticism of the government.

“The situation of human rights defenders in Ethiopia has dramatically worsened since the protests broke out one year ago, and has been compounded by overarching restrictions imposed by the State of Emergency directives,” said Hassan Shire, Executive Director of DefendDefenders.

“The government’s extreme sensitivity to criticism has led to a ruthless and persistent crackdown on protesters, journalists, activists and ordinary citizens who attempt to express legitimate concerns and grievances.”

Since the State of Emergency was declared on 8 October, severe restrictions have been placed on civil and political rights, and AHRE has documented several cases of arrests of journalists.

These include Abebe Wube, general manager of Ye Qelem Qend newspaper, who was arrested in Addis Ababa by security forces on 18 October and Befekadu Hailu, co-founder and member of the Zone 9 bloggers collective, who was arrested on 11 November 2016 at his home in Addis Ababa. Both are still currently detained