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Kenyan suspects not arrested in Kenya, but in Somalia- says Ethiopia
Wed. October 08, 2008 05:26 am.- By Bonny Apunyu. -
(SomaliNet) Saying they had been captured during fighting in Somalia, Ethiopia denied on Tuesday that eight Kenyans who were flown home at the weekend had been arrested in Kenya early last year as suspected Somali Islamists.
Meanwhile, rights activists and Muslim groups accuse Kenyan authorities of covertly sending the eight men and scores of others to Mogadishu and Addis Ababa for interrogation.
The eight Kenyans, who say they were tortured, have threatened to sue the Kenyan government for their rendition.
Berhan Hailu, Ethiopian Information Minister said the suspects were prisoners of war arrested inside Somalia, where Ethiopian forces are supporting a fragile interim government.
"They were prisoners of war captured during fighting inside Somalia and were brought to Ethiopia," Berhan told Reuters. "They were not covertly rounded up by Kenya and sent to Ethiopia in secret in early 2007, as it was alleged."
He also denied that the former prisoners were abused during questioning by investigators from several nations, as the eight had said.
"Their allegation is a smear campaign against our country," he said. "As a principle, Ethiopia does not torture prisoners."
The eight men were among suspected militants captured early last year when a Somali Islamist movement was driven from power in Mogadishu.
They have demanded that Kenya's attorney-general identify and prosecute public officials who authorised their rendition.
However, the Kenyan authorities deny sending their citizens abroad.
Human rights activists say at least 150 men, women and children from more than 18 nations were rounded up near the Somali border at the start of last year. It said most had been sent home, but that several were still missing.-Agencies
News Category: Somalia
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