Daniel Bekele (

Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...

: ዳንኤል በቀለ; 17 February 1967) is an Ethiopian lawyer and human rights activist. He was detained from November 2005 to March 2008 for his complaints about the procedures of the

2005 Ethiopian general election General elections were held in Ethiopia on 15 May 2005, for seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives and four regional government councils. Under pressure from the international community, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi promised that this elec ...

. He was executive director of the Africa division at Human Rights Watch from 2011 to 2016. In 2019, Daniel was appointed head of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.

Youth and education

Daniel Bekele was born on . He graduated in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in law and in 2001 with a master's degree in development studies from

Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa University (AAU) ( am, አዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ) is a national university located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the oldest university in Ethiopia. AAU has thirteen campuses. Twelve of these are situated in Addis Ababa, ...

. He obtained a master's degree in law from Oxford University in 2003. He later started doctoral studies on a "Comparative Study of Media Law in East Africa" at Oxford.

Early career

Daniel was a legal advisor to Ethiopian Sugar Corporation during 1998–1990, and then became an independent legal consultant. He specialised in supporting civil society, human rights education, and promoted legal changes for improving the protections for women's rights. Daniel became a member of ActionAid in 2004, becoming responsible for policy research and advocacy. He held a senior position in United Insurance Company. Daniel was one of the leaders of the Ethiopian component of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty campaign.

2005–2008 detention

Daniel was one of the key civil society organisers coordinating monitoring of the

. He criticised the procedures of how the election was held. On 16 October 2005, he was "badly beaten by unidentified armed men", which

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

interpreted to be a result of his criticisms of the electoral procedures. Daniel was detained on 1 November 2005. In December 2007, he and Netsanet Demissie were convicted in the

Ethiopian Federal High Court Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

for "provoking and preparing 'outrages against the Constitution'" but acquitted of committing "outrages", by a majority of two judges out of three, after a two-year trial. Daniel and Netsanet were released on 28 March 2008. Amnesty International considered Daniel's and Netsanet's detention and conviction to have been only based on their human rights activities, and defined both as having been prisoners of conscience. Amnesty director for Africa, Erwin van der Borght, stated, "It is deplorable that civil society activists who are prisoners of conscience like Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie can be arrested and unfairly convicted simply for peacefully conducting human rights work."

Human rights bodies

Daniel was executive director of the Africa division of Human Rights Watch (HRW) from 2011 to 2016, and later became its senior director for Africa advocacy. In July 2019, Daniel was appointed as the new head of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), selected from among 88 candidates by the House of People's Representatives (HoPR, the lower house of Ethiopian parliament) replacing Addisu Gebreegziabhier. In September 2021, Daniel was awarded the 2021 German Africa Prize for his commitment to defending human rights and democracy.

Points of view

In 2012, Daniel criticised the United States and the European Union for supporting economic development in authoritarian countries while only "pay nglip service" to human rights violations in those countries. He included Ethiopia as an example where development aid increased while human rights "severely deteriorated".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel Bekele Ethiopian human rights activists Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Ethiopia 1967 births Living people