Free Birtukan Mideksa

Senator Finegold Demainds the release of Ms Birtukan Mideksa

Written by Senator Russ Finegold

"... With the elections just three months away, several key opposition leaders remain imprisoned, most notably Birtukan Mideksa, the head of the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party. There is no way that elections can be fair, let alone credible, with opposition leaders in jail or unable to campaign freely. At the bare minimum, the international community should push for the release of these political prisoners ahead of the elections. And if nothing changes, we should not be afraid to stand with the Ethiopian people and state clearly that an election in name only is an affront to their country’s democratic aspirations. ..."

UNHCR declares Birtukan Mideksa in arbitrary detention

Written by UNHRC

"Ms. Birtukan Mideksa | Detention arbitrary, categories II and III; since 29 December 2009 also category I." Page 10 of the report.

Recommendations (excerpt...)

"The immediate release of a person arbitrarily detained is typically the appropriate remedy, not only if the detention is arbitrary in terms of categories I and II as being manifestly devoid of any legal basis or resulting from the exercise of certain human rights, but also in terms of category III, given the grave nature of violations of the right to fair trial established by the Working Group when applying category III."

Click here to read the complete report

Picture: South Korea Rallies for Birtukan

Written by freebirtukan.ORG

South Korea Rallies for Birtukan

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Does the world need another Martyr? The Case of Birtukan Mideksa

Written by Chris Flaherty

On December 28 2008, Birtukan Mideksa was arrested again and imprisoned to serve a life sentence after the pardon granted to her in 2007 was revoked. Medeksa was among more than 100 people jailed for offences after allegations of fraud took hold of the Ethiopian election in 2005. The Ethiopian government claimed that her pardon was conditional on "an apology for her crimes." Today, the 36yr old court judge and mother appears to be gradually elevating to martyrdom status alone in her prison cell -- much the same way Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma has.