Girma Desta Attorney & Consultant at Law

May 12 ,2025 GC
Ref Number: 0004/2025

Testimony Acceptance Form

I have known Ms. Fegegta Negash Wolde Mariam since our childhood—we grew up together.
We have always been close, sharing both joyful and difficult moments without ever being apart.
We remain in contact to this day. I was aware of the challenges she encountered, as she shared
them with me, and I offered her emotional support. I have personally witnessed the various
hardships she has faced.

And today, May 12, 2025, at 4:00 AM, I appeared before Attorney Girma Desta and gave the following
testimony regarding the arrest and torture of Ms. Fegegta Negash Wolde Mariam, affirming that this
statement has been given voluntarily, without any form of coercion, and with the understanding that it
is legally binding.

Ms. Fegegta Negash was born and raised in the Eastern Ethiopian city of Harar. Her parents are
of Amhara ethnicity, and she was raised as both Amhara and Christian within a predominantly
Muslim community. Her childhood was relatively peaceful, as there was a certain level of
tolerance among different ethnic and religious groups.

However, since 1991, the situation began to deteriorate, with Amhara and Christians increasingly
targeted by rebel groups operating in various parts of Ethiopia, including their places of origin.

After obtaining her diploma in secretarial science, Ms. Fegegta Negash was unable to find
employment in her hometown due to her ethnicity. As a result, she was forced to leave Harar and
seek job opportunities in northern and southern Ethiopia. I accompanied her during that time.

Because of the ongoing ethnic conflicts and the growing anti-Amhara sentiment, she eventually
called me and informed me of her decision to leave her job in the Arba Minch area in southern
Ethiopia by 2017. I supported her decision, agreeing that it was the right thing to do.

When she returned to Harar, I welcomed her as a friend and comforted her during her hardships.
Later, when ethnic tensions escalated again, she traveled to the Somali Regional State in search
of work. I accompanied her to Jijiga, where I rented a house for her before returning to my own
city.

She remained in Jijiga, tried different jobs, and eventually secured employment in road
construction. I am aware that she has been working in that field.
However, in June 2019, in the Somali Region, anti-Amhara sentiment intensified. Armed groups
known as "Higo" organized themselves with the aim of separating the region from Ethiopia.
They burned villages and towns, forced non-Somali residents to leave the area, killed non-
Somali individuals, burned a church, and kidnapped Ms. Fegegta Negash along with ten others.

When someone close to me informed me that she had been kidnapped, I immediately sought her
out and negotiated with the office where she had been working. After considerable effort, a
payment was made on her behalf, and she was eventually released. The government promised to
provide her with better security, and she decided to remain in the Somali Region and continue
working. I traveled to the area at the time to check on her.

In 2022, when the Ethiopian government launched a military operation against the Amhara rebel
group known as “Fano,” Ms. Fegegta Negash and her family came under government
surveillance.

On December 26, 2023, she was detained for three days and released on bail as part of a wider
campaign by government security forces to suppress the Amhara people. I know this because she
was closely consulting with me throughout the ordeal, and I am fully aware of the situation.

Even after her release, the surveillance did not stop. Being close to the family, I can confirm that
other members of her family also endured the same kind of harassment.

Her husband had likewise been subjected to ongoing abuse for many years. On December 12,
2023, government security forces went to her home in Harar and took her husbamd into custody,
simply stating, “You are wanted.” When Ms. Fegegta asked where they were taking him, they
refused to give her any information. I was with her during her search for her husband.

As they moved her husband from one police station to another, we searched for him tirelessly,
but were unable to locate him. During this time, she put her own life at great risk as she went
from place to place trying to find him.

Fearing for her safety, she waited for four months hoping for her husband's release. When it
became clear that he would not be released, she gave up hope and traveled to Canada in 2024,
where she currently resides.

Given these facts, it is evident that returning to Ethiopia would expose her to serious risks.

I hereby certify under oath, before a lawyer, that all the information stated above is true and
correct, in accordance with Article 205 of the Ethiopian Civil Procedure Code.
In 2015, when the Ethiopian government launched a military campaign against the Amhara rebel
group known as Fano, Ms. Fegegta Negash and her family were caught in the crossfire. On
December 12, 2023, she was detained for three days and later released on bail, as part of a
broader crackdown by government security forces targeting the Amhara population.

I know this personally, as she was in close contact with me throughout that time. Despite her
release, the harassment did not stop, as other members of her family experienced similar
treatment. I am very close to her family and can confirm that her husband had also been
subjected to repeated attacks over the years.

On December 2, 2016, government security forces came to his house in Harar and took him
away, stating only that he was “wanted.” When she asked where they were taking him, they were
unable to provide an answer. I was actively searching for Abriyat during that time. The
authorities kept transferring him from one police station to another, making it extremely difficult
to locate him. We eventually learned he had been moved, but we were unable to find his exact
whereabouts. In the process of searching for him, Ms. Fegegta put herself in a very dangerous
situation, risking her own life.

Fearing for her life, Ms. Fegegta Negash waited for four months after being told that her husband
would be released from prison the following day, but his release never came. In 2024, she
applied for asylum in Canada and is currently residing there. It is evident that returning to
Ethiopia would pose serious risks to her safety.

We have testified under oath before a lawyer that all the above statements are true, in accordance
with Article 205 of the Ethiopian Criminal Code.

Signature of Witnesses Signature of Lawyer

Date: May 12, 2025 Date: May 12, 2025

አስር ሰዎችን አፍነው እደወሰዷቸው ከቅርብ ሰው ተደውሎልኝ እንደታገተች ሲነግሩኝ እሷን አፈላልጌ ከምትሰራበት
መስሪያ ቤት ጋር በመሆን የነበረውን ችግር ድርድር በማድረግ ከስንት ልፋት በኃላ ገንዘብ ከፍሎ አስለቅቋቸው መንግስት
የተሸለ ደህነነት አደርግላችኃላው ብሎ ቃል ገብቶላቸው እዚያው በሱማሌ ክልል ለመስራት ቀርታ ነበር እኔ በወቅቱ ቦታው
ድረስ ለመፈለግ ሔጃለው፡፡

አሁንም በ 2015 ዓ.ም የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት "ፋኖ" ተብለው በሚጠሩት የአማራ አማፂዎች ላይ ጦርነት ሲከፈት
ከነቤተሰቦቿ በአይነ ቁራኛ ውስጥ የወደቀች ሲሆን በታህሳስ 16 ቀን 2016 ዓ.ም የመንግስት ፀጥታ ሐይላት
በሐገሪቱ በነበሩ የአማራ ተወላጆችን ለመጨቆን ባወጁት ዘመቻ መሠረት ለ 3 ቀናት ታስራ በዋስ ተለቃ እንደወጣችም
አውቃለሁ ምክንያቱም በቅርብ የምታማክረው እኔን ስለሆነ ጉዳዩን አውቃለው፡፡

In 2015, when the Ethiopian government launched a war against

I know that on December 16, 2016, she was detained for 3 days
and released on bail as part of a campaign by government
security forces to suppress the Amhara people in the country,
because I am the one she is consulting with closely, so I am aware
of the matter.

ከዚህም በኃላ ቢሆን እሱዋን መሰለላቸውንም አላቆሙም ነበር ሌሎች የቤተሰቦቿ አባላት በተመሳሳይ ሁኔታ በዚህ መጥፎ
ሁኔታ ውስጥ ሊያልፉ ግድ እንደሆነባቸው ለቤተሰቡ ቅርብ በመሆኔ ጉዳዩን አውቃለውኝ፡፡

Even after this, they did not stop spying on her. I know from being
close to the family that other members of her family had to go
through this same bad situation.

ባለቤቷም እንደዚሁ ለብዙ አመታት ጥቃት ይደርስበት ነበር በታህሳስ 2 ቀን 2016 ዓ/ም በመንግስት ፀጥታ አካላት
በሐረር ከሚገኘው ቤቱ ድረስ በመሄድ "ትፈለጋለህ" በማለት ወስደውት ወዴት እንደሚወስዱት ብትጠይቃቸውም ሊነግሯት
ፈቃደኛ አልሆኑም፡፡ እኔም አብሬያት ባለቤቷን ሳፈላልጋት ነበር ፡፡

Her husband had also been subjected to similar abuse for many
years. On December 2, 2016, government security forces went to
his home in Harar and took him away, saying, "you are wanted"
She asked them where they were taking him, but they refused to
tell her. I was with her when she searched for her husband.

ከአንደኛው ፓሊስ ጣቢያ ወደ ሌላ ፓሊስ ጣቢያ እያዘዋወሩ ሲያንገላቱት እዚህ ነው በሚባልበት ቦታ ሁሉ አብሬያት
ተገኝቼ ብናፈላልገውም ልናገኘው ባለመቻላችን እሱን ፍለጋ ከቦታ ቦታ ስትሔድ ለራሷም ሕይወት እጅግ አስጊ ሁኔታ
ውስጥ ከቷት ነበር፡፡

While they were harassing him by moving him from one police
station to another, I was with her everywhere she went, but we
couldn't find him. As she went from place to place looking for him,
she put her own life in danger.

ለሕይወቷም በመስጋቷ ባለቤቷም ከእስር ከነገ ዛሬ ይለቀቃል በማለት ለ 4 ወር ይፈቱልኛል በማለት ብትጠብቅም
እንደማይለቁት በመረዳትዋ ተስፋ በመቁረጥ ወደ ካናዳ ሄዳ በ 2016 ዓ.ም ጥገኝነት ጠይቃ በካናዳ በመኖር ላይ
ትገኛለች ፡፡

Fearing for her life, she waited for 4 months hoping that her
husband would be released from prison, but when she realized
that he would not be released, she gave up hope and went to
Canada in 2016, where she is currently living.

ከዚህም በመነሳት ተመልሳ ወደ ኢትዮጵያ ብትመጣ የከፋ ችግር ሊገጥማት እንደሚችል ግልፅ ነው ፡፡
Based on this facts, it is clear that she could face serious
problems if she returns to Ethiopia.

ከላይ የዘረዘርኳቸው እውነታዎች በሙሉ የእውነት ቃል ለመሆናቸው በኢትዮጵያ የፍ/ሥ/ሥ/ህ 205 መሠረት በጠበቃ
ፊት በመሐላ አረጋግጣለው፡፡

I hereby certify under oath before a lawyer that all the facts I
have stated above are true and correct, in accordance with Article
205 of the Ethiopian Civil procedure Code.

የምስክሮች ፊርማ

የጠበቃ ፊርማ

ግንቦት 4 ቀን 2017 ዓ.ም

ግንቦት 4 ቀን 2016

In 2022, when the Ethiopian government launched a war against the

I know that on December 26, 2023, she was detained for 3 days and
released on bail as part of a campaign by government security forces to
suppress the Amhara people in the country, because I am the one she is
consulting with closely, so I am aware of the matter.

Even after this, they did not stop spying on her. I know from being close to
the family that other members of her family had to go through this same
bad situation.

Her husband had also been subjected to similar abuse for many years. On
December 12, 2023, government security forces went to his home in Harar
and took him away, saying, "you are wanted" She asked them where they
were taking him, but they refused to tell her. I was with her when she
searched for her husband.

While they were harassing him by moving him from one police station to
another, I was with her everywhere she went, but we couldn't find him. As
she went from place to place looking for him, she put her own life in
danger.

Fearing for her life, she waited for 4 months hoping that her husband would
be released from prison, but when she realized that he would not be
released, she gave up hope and went to Canada in 2016, where she is
currently living.

Based on this facts, it is clear that she could face serious problems if she
returns to Ethiopia.

I hereby certify under oath before a lawyer that all the facts I have stated
above are true and correct, in accordance with Article 205 of the Ethiopian
Civil procedure Code.