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March 23,2000 ILLIGAL DETENTION,MISTREATMENT OF PRESONERS IN HADIYA ZONE: With hundreds of people illegally jailed in the hadiya zone(Southern region),where the government is clearly trying to punish people for supporting the oppostion (and legal)SEPDC,the condition of inprisioment has become worse than ever before. In the Badawocho district ,where more than hundred peasants and some civil servants are detained in the police station since mid december 1999,SOCEPP has learnt that 35-40 prisioners are being kept in3x4 cells and many prisioners are suffering from diarrhea and expose to typhiod ,etc.Cell doors are kept locked night and day and many sick prisioners have been forced to relieve themselves right there in the narrow cells thereby aggravating the risk of infection and disease.Appeals by prisioners for justice have up to now fallen on deaf ears. Government cadres and soldiers like Ashenafi Legebo, Corporal Abraham Desta ,Soldiers Tagesse Meskelo and Abebe Mekonnen are terrorizing the people of the district and forcing people to abandon their support for the oppostion party led by Dr. Beyene Petros.In this connection police encircled and broke in to the house of SEPDC member Alemu Buncheso and corporal Abraham fumed to "drink the blood " of Alemu and and shot at him by AK-47for timies. Ato alemu is not wounded but finds himself behind bars for no other crime than for his political choices. A number of people, (Abegaz Belaso, Moti Belaso, Woizero/Mme/Tirunesh Buramo, Gemed Blaso, etc.), going on a wedding ceremony from Shone (capital of Badawacho) to Hosanna were also detained for a day and mistreated and released only after promising they will not vote for the SEPDC next May. Civil servants who are suspected of sympathies for the SEPDC have also been arbitrarily chased away from the district. The violations of rights continue unabated. SOCEPP
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