By Abebe Gellaw
EVN (August 4) — Security forces forcefully barged into the home of Christian Tadele, a Member of the House of People’s Representatives and Chairperson of the Standing Committee for Public Expenditures & Administration Control, and violently detained him earlier today. During the incident, Christian was beaten in front of his family members as he was being detained.
Family sources, who spoke to EVN on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, revealed that the MP was severely mistreated and beaten up, despite offering no resistance during the arrest. The security forces confiscated Tadele’s bank account documents, passports, and other paperwork during the operation.
The detention has raised concerns over the violation of basic constitutional rights. According to Article 63 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia, “No member of the House of the Federation may be arrested or prosecuted without the permission of the House,” except in cases of flagrant delicto, where the member is caught red-handed in the act of committing a flagrant crime.
Dejen Media has learned that the security forces responsible for the arrest did not present a court warrant. When the MP requested a court warrant and demanded that his rights and dignity be respected, the security forces responded with further violence. Security is deteriorating in Ethiopia as the Fano militia is expanding its hold in the region controlling key cities in the region including the historic cities of Lalibela and Gondar.
Christian a representative of the Amhara National Movement, is a vocal critic of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his “irreatic” style of leadership, which he perceives as a source of significant destruction, displacement, and mass deaths.
In late March, Tadele publicly called for the Prime Minister’s resignation, accusing him of evading tough questions, ethnicizing issues, and failing to ensure the basic security of citizens. He holds the view that the government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed poses a threat to Ethiopia’s unity and security and urges the Prime Minister to step down as a part of the solution.
In response to Tadele’s demands, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed asserted that the government’s power is derived from a democratic election, encompassing not just the executive branch but also the legislature. He dismissed Tadele’s question as frivolous and accused the MP of dereliction of duty.
Meanwhile, there have been reports of mass arrests targeting people of Amhara ethnic groups in Addis Ababa and other cities.
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