From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Mon Aug 03 2009 - 19:25:55 EDT
Another Top Defection: EWLA director Mahdere hiding
Written on Monday, August 3rd, 2009 at 2:24 am by ethioforum
3 August 2009 - The Executive Director of the Ethiopian Women Lawyers
Association (EWLA), Mahdere Paulos has reportedly gone into hiding,
Addis journal blog reported by quoting pro-government paper.
According to Ethio-Chanel, a pro-government newspaper, Mahdere is
currently in Kenya and might have fled the country after the government
accused her organization of providing 'false information' to American
State Department, whose human right record report enraged the Ethiopian
government.
The paper disclosed that Mahdere sent one of her family members to
EWLA's office on July 6 to present her resignation letter and to give
back the office vehicle that she has been using. EWLA called an
emergency meeting on the next day and has replaced Mahdere by the Legal
and Counseling head, Woizero Shewaye.
The former High Court judge Mahdere has served the Association for three
years.She was appointed judge at barely twenty three years of age.
EWLA is an independent woman's organization working to defend women's
rights and improve civil society throughout Ethiopia. In September 2001,
the government abruptly terminated EWLA's work and froze its bank
accounts. To date, the government has not provided any substantive
reasons for suspending the organization.
http://ethioforum.org/wp/archives/1288
<http://ethioforum.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/mahdere_paulos.jpg>
