Merid Abebe, Chairman of the opposition Omo People’s Democratic Union (OPDU) was arrested at his office in Addis Ababa on 18 October 1994. He has reportedly been taken to custody in Jinka although the authorities have not specified the reason for his arrest. Girma Bekelle, the OPDU Vice-Chairman, Dagne Belachaw, a teacher, and Wessenu Gebeyehu, an Ethiopian Red Cross employee, are among 17 other OPDU members arrested in Jinka in the last four weeks and detained without charge or trial. Some are alleged to have been tortured or ill-treated. There is concern they may be detained as prisoners of conscience.
