Swede ‘beaten in Ogaden’ housed at embassy

July 17, 2013

A Swedish-Ethiopian politician from Gothenburg, assaulted on a trip to Ogaden, has been safely housed at the Swedish embassy in Addis Ababa were immediate arrangements are being made for him and his family return home.

Dayib Mohamud, a part-time Green Party politician from Gothenburg, was detained and beaten in front of his children, the man’s brother told Swedish media on Monday. Ogaden is a restive region where two Swedish journalists were arrested two years ago on suspicion of abetting terrorists.

Dayib Mohamud landed in the Ethiopian capital on Tuesday along with one of his children.

“They’re now at the Swedish embassy to discuss arrangements for a trip home to Sweden,” his brother Qualinle Dayib told news agency TT.

Dayib Mohamud has lived in Sweden for almost three decades and is a Swedish citizen. He had returned with his nine children, all born in Sweden, to Ethiopia to visit their native Ogaden region, according to the brother.

The man told his brother on the phone that he had been assaulted and thrown from a moving vehicle by eight soldiers, before being taken to a house where the beating continued.

“He is very badly hurt and is having problems moving. There are no hospitals in the area,” the brother added.

The rest of the family, eight children and the mother, were expected to arrive in Addis Ababa by bus on Tuesday evening and plans are being made for the entire family to return home to Sweden as soon as possible.

The Ogaden region between Ethiopia and Somalia has been contested for more than a century. Since 1984, the Ogaden National Liberation Front has taken up armed combat with security forces. The Swedish Foreign Ministry (Utrikesdepartementet – UD) advises Swedish citizens to stay clear of the region.