Ongoing Campaign of Bullying, Intimidation, Blackmail, False Accusations and Threats Against Eritrean Human Rights Defenders (London 05-03-2014) Human Rights Concern Eritrea (HRCE) strongly condemns the sustained and unprovoked campaign of defamation, bullying and threats by Mr. Amanuel Kahsay, also known as Rasta, against Eritrean human rights defenders in diaspora, including HRCEs Director. Mr. Kahsay, is an Eritrean ex-Army officer who currently resides in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Since he arrived in the Netherlands 23 years ago, he has never worked, and lives on Social Security Benefit (Awitckern). Mr. Kahsay runs the Hadnet Eritraweyan Nefthi chat room on the social media network, Paltak where he is known as rasts7278. In this freely-provided forum he abuses, defames incites hatred and uses racist language against activist and non-activist Eritreans, and particularly those from a certain region in Eritrea. This hate campaign is not limited to his chat room. He relentlessly attacks certain human rights advocates in an attempt to derail their advocacy work, a known tactic generally employed by authoritarian regimes and their supporters or agents. HRCE has learned that Mr. Kahsay signed the Paltalk Software License, a legally binding agreement that includes an undertaking not to use the chat room in an inappropriate manner ((paltalk/privacy.shtml). According to the agreement unacceptable conduct includes threatening, harassing, or intimidating other users who participate in the chat room. However, Mr. Kahsay regularly uses inappropriate and racist language to abuse and humiliate, participants in the chat room, and to defame known civil rights advocates who do not participate in his chat room by invading their privacy and in an attempt to tarnish their reputations. He has also allowed others, including the notorious Mr. Aregay Hagos also known as Gommida61, who resides in Washington, Vancouver, USA, to use the chat room to abuse, falsely accuse, defame, and blackmail rights advocates including women and the disabled. By making use of his chat room to falsely accuse, insult and defame campaigners for human and democratic rights activists based in diaspora who raise awareness of egregious human rights violations in Eritrea, Mr Kahsay has violated the terms of the Paltalk agreement. “For monthS Eritrean activists in the diaspora have been subjected to personal insults, defamation, invasions of privacy, blackmail, public intimidation and false accusations by both Mr. Kahsay and Mr. Hagos. The calculated and slanderous campaign facilitated by Mr. Kahsay, who lives on welfare benefits at the expense of taxpayers in the Netherlands is unacceptable.” Elsa Chyrum, director of HRCE says. This unprovoked campaign of unfounded falsehoods can be challenged in a court of law in Europe and the USA, since it is a deliberately public campaign and evidence has been recorded and well-documented. Our diaspora-based struggle is against a totalitarian regime with one of the worst human rights records in the world and a political system that terrorizes its own people and rules with fear and intimidation. We will not tolerate the use of similar tactics by individuals who claim asylum or obtain resident permit on false grounds or in order to violate our rights in exile. Human rights defenders have the right to work free from verbal and physical attacks and fear. We strongly call for an immediate end to this sinister campaign using a chat room to intimidate and harass. Mr Kahsays actions are in clear violation of Dutch laws that prohibits such activities. We therefore call on the authorities of the host county where the perpetrators reside, in this case the Netherlands and the USA, to closely monitor and address such behaviour, which violates the basic values and the laws on which their countries are founded. Human Rights Concern – Eritrea (HRCE) – London, hrc.eritrea2001@gmail, hrc-eritrea.org
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 19:41:42 +0000
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