Government using taxpayer's money to train Ethiopia's security forces while British man is held there on death row

By Chris Green, Independent October 3, 2014 Andargachew Tsege The Government is using taxpayers’ money to train security forces in Ethiopia who are currently holding a British father of three on death row, The Independent has learnt.Andargachew “Andy” Tsege, from London, was seized at an airport in Yemen on 23 June and resurfaced in Ethiopian detention two weeks later, in what his family believe was part of a political crackdown by the country’s government ahead of next year’s elections. The 59-year-old sought asylum in Britain in 1979 after being threatened by Ethiopian authorities over his political beliefs. He has since been an outspoken critic of the country’s government and was sentenced to death in absentia in 2009 following a mass trial – a punishment which his family fear may now be carried out. According the legal charity Reprieve, which has taken up Mr Tsege’s case, torture is common in Ethiopian prisons at the hands of security staff, who have been known to employ methods such as electrocution, beatings with rifle butts and the tying of bottles of water to men’s testicles. In 2012, the UK Government agreed to spend £2 million over five years to fund a series of master’s degrees in “Security Sector Management” for 75 Ethiopian officials. In supporting documents, the Department for International Development (DfID) said the country’s police and defence forces were “considered amongst the best in the region in terms of effectiveness and with regards to human rights”. In a letter to International Development Secretary Justine Greening, seen by The Independent, Reprieve’s legal director Tineke Harris said it was “extremely worrying that UK taxpayers’ money appears to be supporting Andy’s ill-treatment at the hands of Ethiopian officials”. INSERT: Reprieve wrote to Ms Greening that “torture is common in Ethiopian prisons at the hands of security staff, who have been known to employ methods such as electrocution, beatings with rifle butts and the tying of bottles of water to men’s testicles”, INSERT: Ms Greening replied in a letter highlighting “the part of the DFID programme working to improve the accountability of Ethiopia’s security and justice services” and stating that “a key focus is human rights”. In her reply, Ms Greening said that Mr Tsege’s welfare was of “great concern” to the Government, adding that DfID’s work was “carefully designed and robustly monitored”. But his partner of nine years, Yemi Hailemariam, said she had “serious problems” with the Government INSERT: indirectly funding the training of Ethiopian security forces.---Independent Ethiomedia.com - An African-American news and views website. Copyright 2013 Ethiomedia.com. Email: editor@ethiomedia.com