Blen Mesfin
Blen Mesfin (Amharic: ብሌን መስፍን) is an official in Ethiopia’s opposition Semayawi (Blue) Party. [1] In 2016 she was named one of twenty women political prisoners in the FreeThe20 campaign by Samantha Power, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.[2]
Mesfin was arrested at a protest in Addis Ababa in April 2015.[1] The protest was for 26 Ethiopians killed by the group called Islamic State in Libya.[3] More than 30 members of the Semayawi Party were arrested before an April 27 political rally.[4]
Two other members of the Semayawi Party, Meron Alemayehu (ሜሮን አለማየሁ ) and Nigist Wondifraw (ንግስት ወንዲፍራው), were also arrested. They were #5 and #6 in the FreeThe20 campaign. They are now free. [5]
Mesfin was released in December 2016,[6] along with a mass release of 9,800 people detained under the state of emergency.[7] According to Ethiopian journalist Tesfalem Waldyes she was re-arrested during a wave of arrests in October 2016.[8]
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "#Freethe20 - HumanRights.gov is the official United States Government website for international human rights related information". Archived from the original on 16 July 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
- ↑ "FreeThe20 Women Political Prisoners and Prisoners of Concern Campaign Launch". Retrieved 18 July 2016.
- ↑ "Ethiopia: Respect court rulings and release opposition members". Retrieved 18 July 2016.
- ↑ +ecadforum (26 April 2014). "Ethiopia: Semayawai(Blue) Party members are being arrested".
- ↑ "We're sorry, that page can't be found".
- ↑ Power, Samantha (24 December 2016). "Encouraging news:#Ethiopia released Blue Party ldrs,incl Blen Mesfin.Cannot rest until pol prisoners everywhere are #FreeToBeHome.#FreeThe20pic.twitter.com/ysqxY9g1Rv".
- ↑ AfricaNews (24 December 2016). "Ethiopia's mass release of 'detainees' excites top US officials, call for more". Africanews.
- ↑ Waldyes, Tesfalem (11 October 2016). "Here comes another wave of arrest in #Ethiopia. Blen Mesfin of Blue Party & part of @AmbassadorPower's #Freethe20 campaign re-arrested today".