HRLHA Press Release No. 20 October 2009

HRLHA Press Release No. 20 October 2009
The plights of Oromo and Somali Refugees in Yemen:
Where They Fled to As a Safe Haven Is Turning a Hell

Hundreds of Oromos and Somalis from Ethiopia and Somalia, who fled their respective countries due to political unrests, are currently facing very harsh situations including forced labour and extrajudicial imprisonment.

According to HRLHA representative in San’a, Yemen, hundreds of Oromo and Somali refugees, who were apprehended at different times from different places in Yemen on different allegations, are currently being held in Jawazata prison inYemen. HRLHA representative who managed to talk to imprisoned refugees themselves and take the list of some of those refuges, has learnt that the Oromo refuges in particular were arrested from around the UNHCR office in San’a, where they usually spend their day times in order to hear or see if there are any changes in their asylum cases. The allegation was that the protested to attempts of deportation by the Yemeni government, as their cases of asylum claim and resettlement in a third country is pending.

On the other hand, the Somali refugees were picked up from the battle field in the area called Sa’ada, where the government is engaged in fighting with guerilla’s, and where they were taken to by the government itself on a promise that they would be offered a job. Upon arrival, HRLHA representative documented, the Somali refugees were instructed to dig trenches that the government soldiers could use to defend themselves against the guerillas. Although they were promised to be paid, the Somali refugees were not happy not only with that kind of job, but also with the payment. To make matters worse, the Somali refugees were unfortunately captured by the guerilla fighters. Worse than that, the refugees were forced to carry guns and fight along with their captors against the Yemeni government.

The Somali refugees, who didn’t like what the guerillas were forcing them to do, secretly conspired against the guerillas and surrendered to the government army. But, things didn’t go the way the Somali refugees intended them to go. The Yemeni government, by misinterpreting their intentions and actions, announced to the refugees that they are war captives, and sent them to prison, according to HRLHA representative in Yemen. There are also Somali refugees who have been imprisoned because they refused to accept the job in the battle field, which resulted in the imprisonment of their fellow Somali refugees.

HRLHA representative in Yemen has also managed to obtain names of some of the imprisoned Oromo refugees; though he has not yet been successful in getting the names of the Somalis. The obtained names are listed below:

No	Name	Birth place	Gender	Age
1	Iyasu Tadesse Ayana	East Wallaga	M
2	Abduljabar Aman Husen	Jima	M
3	Ismael Ayele	Jima	M
4	Abduselam Abdela Haron	Hararge	M
5	Sadik Ali Umar	Hararge	M
6	Umar Ahmed Muktar	Hararge	M
7	Ismael	Wollo	M
8	Sadik Umar	Darolabu/Hararge	M	36
9	Ahmed Abdulah	Guba Koricha/Hararge	M	28
10	Jawud Ahmed Siraj	Daro Labu/Hararge	M	25
11	Umer Ahmed Muktar	Daro Labu/Hararge	M	20
12	Abdi Ahmed Husen	Guba Koricha/Hararge	M	25
13	Adem Abdula Ahmed	Bala Gatira	M	25
14	Ahmed Husen Kalo	Bala Gatira	M	20
15	Amin Ahmed Hasen	Bale	M	22
16	Ahmed Teha	Arsi	M	40
17	Shamsu Ahmed Abagaro	Sigmo/Jima Zone	M	19
18	Abdela Ali	Baddano/Hararge	M	20
19	Abdela Ahmed Husen	Jima Sigimo	M	20
20	Ahmed Siraj	Jima Sigimo	M	19
21	Mohamed Abagaro	Jima Sigimo	M	18
22	Abdela Jiyad Abdurahiman	Jima Sigimo	M	20
23	Husen Hasen Habib	Jima Sigimo	M	22
24	Nasir Nuredin Aliyi	Jima Satama	M	23
25	Zakir Siraj Sharif	Jima Satama	M	20
26	Sali Siraj Ibrahim	Jima Sigimo	M	18
27	Abdulmajid Ibrahim Ireso	Jima Satama	M	30
28	Mohamed Boru	Habro/Hararge	M	23
29	Mahamed Muktar Isa	Jima Sigimo	M	18
30	Abdela Ahmed Husen	Jima Satama	M	18
31	Jaju Didha Wayessa	Jima Sigimo	M	14
32	Abdela Adam Jilo	Darolabu/Hararge	M	23
33	Shek Ahmed Abdela	Draolabu/Hararge	M	32
34	Tamam Tahur Madda	Guna	M	23
35	Abdi Mohamed Hamid	Dadar/Hararge	M	25

HRLHA strongly demands that the Yemen government investigate the situations of the wrongfully imprisoned refugees, and/or unconditionally release them from prison. We also demand that those refugees are provided with all rights and privileges that they are entitled to under international laws, covenants, treaties, etc, which HRLHA believes the Yemeni government has signed. We also call on all regional and international human rights organizations as well as national agencies in Yemen to join hands and pressurize the Yemeni government to release those refugees from prison and protect their refugee rights.

HRLHA is a non-political organization which attempts to challenge abuses of human rights of the people of various nations and nationalities in the Horn of Africa. It is aimed at defending fundamental human rights including freedoms of thought, expression, movement and association. It is also aimed at raising the awareness of individuals about their own basic human rights and that of others. It has intended to work on the observances as well as due processes of law. It promotes the growth and development of free and vigorous civil societies.