Prison Conditions in Ethiopia

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Prison Conditions in Ethiopia Prison Conditions in Ethiopia February 2021 (COI included between 1st April 2018 and 31st December 2020) © ARC Foundation / Garden Court Chambers, February 2021 ARC Foundation publications are covered by the Create Commons License allowing for limited use of ARC Foundation publications provided the work is properly credited to ARC Foundation and it is for non-commercial use. ARC Foundation does not hold the copyright to the content of third party material included in this report. Reproduction or any use of the images/maps/infographics included in this report is prohibited and permission must be sought directly from the copyright holder(s). We are extremely grateful to Paul Hamlyn Foundation for its support of this project. Feedback and comments Please help us to improve and to measure the impact of our publications. We’d be extremely grateful for any comments and feedback as to how the reports have been used in refugee status determination processes, or beyond. Thank you. https://asylumresearchcentre.org/feedback/ Please direct any questions to [email protected] Cover photo: © Naeblys/shutterstock.com 2 Table of Contents Introduction 10 Explanatory Note 12 List of sources consulted 13 1. Physical or psychological torture, inhuman or degrading treatment 15 A. Detention facilities in general 15 B. Prisons 19 C. Pre-trial detention facilities 20 D. Police custody 20 2. Use of forced confessions 22 A. Pre-trial detention facilities 22 B. Police custody 22 3. Deaths in custody 23 A. Detention facilities in general 23 4. Size of cells, overcrowding [less than 3m2 of personal space] 24 A. Detention facilities in general 24 B. Prisons 25 C. Pre-trial detention facilities 25 D. Police custody 25 5. Solitary confinement, social isolation, incommunicado detention, constraints to out of cell activities and freedom of movement 27 A. Detention facilities in general 27 B. Prisons 30 C. Pre-trial detention facilities 30 D. Police custody 31 E. Other 31 6. Unhygienic conditions 33 A. Detention facilities in general 33 B. Prisons 34 3 C. Pre-trial detention facilities 34 7. Restrictions to medical care 35 A. Detention facilities in general 35 B. Prisons 35 C. Pre-trial detention facilities 36 8. Irregular or contaminated food and water 37 A. Detention facilities in general 37 B. Prisons 38 C. Pre-trial detention facilities 38 D. Police custody 39 9. Deprivation of normal sensory stimulation, such as sound, light, sense of time, isolation, manipulation of brightness of the cell, abuse of physiological needs, restriction of sleep, motor activities, denial of privacy and forced nakedness, exposure to extreme temperatures 40 A. Detention facilities in general 40 B. Prisons 40 C. Police custody 40 10. Number of prisoners on remand and length of pre-trial detention 42 A. Detention facilities in general 42 B. Pre-trial detention facilities 43 C. Police custody 44 D. Other 45 11. Factors that affect length of pre-trial detention 46 A. Detention facilities in general 46 B. Pre-trial detention facilities 46 12. Effective monitoring 48 A. Detention facilities in general 48 B. Prisons 52 C. Police custody 52 13. Investigations and accountability 53 4 A. Detention facilities in general 53 B. Prisons 63 14. Redress 65 A. Detention facilities in general 65 B. Prisons 66 15. Impunity for state human rights abuses 67 A. Detention facilities in general 67 B. Prisons 68 16. Death penalty, especially after unfair trails 71 A. Detention facilities in general 71 17. Access to legal representation 73 A. Detention facilities in general 73 B. Prisons 74 C. Pre-trial detention facilities 75 D. Police custody 75 E. Other 75 18. Separation of and situation for women detainees 77 (1) Physical or psychological torture, inhuman or degrading treatment of detained women 77 A. Detention facilities in general 77 B. Other 77 (2) Deaths in custody of detained women 78 A. Detention facilities in general 78 (3) Size of cells, overcrowding [less than 3m2 of personal space] for detained women 78 A. Prisons 78 (4) Solitary confinement, social isolation, incommunicado detention, constraints to out of cell activities and freedom of movement for detained women 78 A. Prisons 78 (5) Unhygienic conditions for detained women 79 A. Detention facilities in general 79 B. Prisons 79 (6) Restrictions to medical care for detained women 80 5 A. Detention facilities in general 80 B. Prisons 80 (7) Irregular or contaminated food and water for detained women 80 A. Detention facilities in general 80 B. Prisons 81 C. Other 81 (8) Deprivation of normal sensory stimulation, such as sound, light, sense of time, isolation, manipulation of brightness of the cell, abuse of physiological needs, restriction of sleep, motor activities, denial of privacy and forced nakedness, exposure to extreme temperatures for detained women 81 A. Prisons 81 (9) Number of women on remand and length of pre-trial detention for detained women 82 A. Detention facilities in general 82 (10) Access to legal representation for detained women 82 A. Detention facilities in general 82 (11) Other, including separation of detained women 82 A. Detention facilities in general 82 19. Situation of detained children 84 (1) Physical or psychological torture, inhuman or degrading treatment of detained children 84 A. Police custody 84 (2) Deaths in custody of detained children 84 A. Police custody 84 (3) Size of cells, overcrowding [less than 3m2 of personal space] for detained children 85 A. Detention facilities in general 85 (4) Solitary confinement, social isolation, incommunicado detention, constraints to out of cell activities and freedom of movement for detained children 85 A. Prisons 85 B. Other 86 (5) Unhygienic conditions for detained children 86 A. Prisons 86 (6) Restrictions to medical care for detained children 87 A. Prisons 87 B. Police custody 87 (7) Irregular or contaminated food and water for children 88 A. Prisons 88 6 (8) Deprivation of normal sensory stimulation, such as sound, light, sense of time, isolation, manipulation of brightness of the cell, abuse of physiological needs, restriction of sleep, motor activities, denial of privacy and forced nakedness, exposure to extreme temperatures for detained children 88 A. Prisons 88 (9) Access to legal representation for detained children 89 A. Police custody 89 (10) Other, including separation of child detainees 89 A. Detention facilities in general 89 B. Prisons 89 20. Discrimination including freedom to practice religion, special needs including treatment of disabled prisoners 90 A. Detention facilities in general 90 21. Situation in detention for Oromos 91 (1) Physical or psychological torture, inhuman or degrading treatment of detained Oromos 91 A. Detention facilities in general 91 B. Police custody 91 C. Other 92 (2) Deaths in custody of detained Oromos 94 A. Other 94 (3) Solitary confinement, social isolation, incommunicado detention, constraints to out of cell activities and freedom of movement for detained Oromos 95 A. Detention facilities in general 95 B. Other 95 (4) Unhygienic conditions for detained Oromos 96 A. Detention facilities in general 96 B. Other 96 (5) Restrictions to medical care for detained Oromos 97 A. Detention facilities in general 97 (6) Irregular or contaminated food and water for Oromos 98 A. Detention facilities in general 98 B. Other 98 (7) Deprivation of normal sensory stimulation, such as sound, light, sense of time, isolation, manipulation of brightness of the cell, abuse of physiological needs, restriction of sleep, motor activities, denial of privacy and forced nakedness, exposure to extreme temperatures for detained Oromos 99 7 A. Detention facilities in general 99 B. Police custody 99 (8) Number of Oromos on remand and length of pre-trial detention for detained Oromos 100 A. Police custody 100 B. Other 100 (9) Factors that affect length of pre-trial detention for detained Oromos 100 A. Pre-trial detention facilities 100 B. Other 100 (10) Other, including forced rehabilitation 101 22. Situation in detention for OLF members and perceived OLF members 102 (1) Physical or psychological torture, inhuman or degrading treatment of detained OLF members and perceived OLF members 102 A. Detention facilities in general 102 B. Police custody 102 (2) Solitary confinement, social isolation, incommunicado detention, constraints to out of cell activities and freedom of movement for detained OLF members and perceived OLF members 103 A. Detention facilities in general 103 (3) Unhygienic conditions for detained OLF members and perceived OLF members 104 A. Other 104 (4) Restrictions to medical care for detained OLF members and perceived OLF members 104 A. Police custody 104 B. Other 105 (5) Irregular or contaminated food and water for detained OLF members and perceived OLF members 105 A. Other 105 (6) Deprivation of normal sensory stimulation, such as sound, light, sense of time, isolation, manipulation of brightness of the cell, abuse of physiological needs, restriction of sleep, motor activities, denial of privacy and forced nakedness, exposure to extreme temperatures for detained OLF members and perceived OLF members 105 A. Detention facilities in general 105 (7) Number of OLF detainees on remand and length of pre-trial detention for detained OLF members 106 A. Detention facilities in general 106 B. Pre-trial detention facilities 107 C. Police custody 107 D. Other 107 (8) Access to legal representation for detained OLF members and perceived OLF members 107 8 A. Detention facilities in general 107 23. Situation in detention for perceived government opponents 109 (1) Physical or psychological torture, inhuman or degrading treatment of detained perceived government opponents 109 A. Detention facilities in general 109 B. Other 109 (2) Size of cells, overcrowding [less than 3m2 of personal space] for detained perceived government opponents 109 A. Detention facilities in general 109 (3) Solitary confinement, social isolation, incommunicado detention, constraints to out of cell activities and freedom of movement for detained perceived government opponents 109 A.
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