CONFIDENTIAL
ETHIOPIA
Report by East African Department
General Observations
The general trend in Ethiopia is downward. It is exemplified by "execution" without trial. Many killings take place unannounced and without any pretension at a trial; often the selection of victims is - quite possibly arbitrary.
Right No.
(i)
(ii)
Rating suggested by Post
Imprisonment without trial is traditional in Ethipia. It has increased under the present regime. All prisons and gaols in Addis Ababa are full and the total number held could exceed 3,000 (total population approximately 26 million).
There is certainly some torture, although HM Embassy have no evidence that it is used on a large scale. Inhuman or degrading treatment (eg shaving heads, cramped conditions) is prevalent.
10
+
(iii)
Slavery, whereby "serfs" were kept by land- owners without payment apart from food and lodging existed in Ethiopia many years before the Revolution. The present Government's record, however, is good.
О
(iv)
There have always been restrictions on freedom of speech, which have become more restrictive under the present regime. There is strict censorship of books, films, and radio broadcasts.
8
(v)
7
The legal system in Ethiopia is in a state of flux. The penal code remains in existence and has recently been strengthened, but there appears to be an extreme variety of sentences given for similar crimes many of them with very harsh penalties, eg death for being an anti-Revolutionary.
CONFIDENTIAL
/(vi)
The
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