A rights group has said that at least 32 people have been arrested and detained in Ethiopia, after demonstrations by their relatives in Australia against a recent visit by a regional government delegation that included Abdi Mohamoud Omar, known as Abdi Iley, the president of Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State.
The Ethiopian delegation did not appear, and after several hours the event was cancelled.
The protesters later learnt that several dozen of their relatives in Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State had been arrested and detained due to their involvement in the Melbourne protest.
The protesters were also protesting Australia’s support for the Ethiopian government, said the Human Right Watch (HRW).
The human right watchdog has since called for the immediate release of those who were arrested.
“The Ethiopian government should immediately release the relatives of the Melbourne protesters, whose detention amounts to unlawful collective punishment of family members”, HRW said.
