Ethiopia: Policy on exit and return, especially illegal exit

In July 1976, an amendment to the Special Penal Code, section 17b, "Commission of Counter-revolutionary Acts", prescribed penalties of 5 to 25 years imprisonment, or life imprisonment or death "where the commission of the offence is exceptionally grave", for anyone who ... commits treason against the country and the people by illegally leaving or attempting to leave the country". [ Amnesty International, Ethiopia Political Imprisonment and Torture, (London: Amnesty International Publications, June 1986), p. 9. The U.S. Department of State (1988) says the penalty can be from 5 to 15 years imprisonment, or (in exceptional circumstances) death.] When the Special Penal code was repealed in 1981, it was replaced by the Amended Special Penal Code which retained the same penalties for the offence of illegally leaving or attempting to leave the country. [ Ibid.] More recent information on the existence of revisions to the penal code is not presently available to the IRBDC. However, Amnesty International, in its Report 1988 indicates that the penalty was still in effect at the beginning of 1988. It reports the existence of political prisoners who were arrested for "seeking to avoid military conscription or to flee the country, ... an offence for which the penalty may be lengthy imprisonment or, in special cases, death." [ Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 1988, (London: Amnesty International Publications, 1988), p. 38.] According to Amnesty International, some relatives of illegal emigres and conscription evaders were also arrested in reprisal. [ Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 1988, (London: Amnesty International Publications, 1988), p. 38.] When The State Kills, the 1989 Amnesty International publication, confirms that the aforementioned penalties are still in effect.

Mandatory exit visas and passports are required for Ethiopians wishing to travel abroad. [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, p.116.] A letter of recommendation is required from the head of the local urban neighbourhood association (kebelle) for the application for a passport. "Emigration is highly restricted, except in special circumstances such as marriage to or adoption by a foreign national." [ Ibid.]

With regard to return, the U.S. Department of State says "the [Ethiopian] Government recognizes the right of voluntary repatriation, and its proclamation of mass amnesty for Ethiopians living abroad remains in effect." [ Ibid.] However, because the penalties for illegal exit outlined in the Amended Special Penal Code are still in effect, it is not certain how the government would treat returnees guilty of this offence. The Department of State mentions that only about 35,000 Ethiopian refugees returning from neighbouring countries (Djibouti, Sudan, Somalia) of the 1,000,000 Ethiopians living abroad, have repatriated either spontaneously or under the auspices of the UNHCR since December 1986. [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, pp. 116-117.] Although the Department of State claims that there are no reports that the returnees were mistreated or discriminated against upon their return, the UNHCR office in Ottawa stated in February 1989 that the instability and traditional tensions between Ethiopia and ethnic Somalis of the Ogaden, posed a risk of severe penalties upon the return of refugees to Ethiopia.