ETHIOPIA: Govt pardons 746 prisoners

Ethiopia will release 746 more prisoners, including a journalist and a senior opposition official who were jailed for conspiracy to commit terrorist acts, the attorney general’s office said on Thursday. The decision follows a raft of reforms announced by the government to try to reduce tension in the Horn of Africa country, which has been […]

Ethiopia will release 746 more prisoners, including a journalist and a senior opposition official who were jailed for conspiracy to commit terrorist acts, the attorney general’s office said on Thursday.

The decision follows a raft of reforms announced by the government to try to reduce tension in the Horn of Africa country, which has been hit by unrest since 2015.

Nearly 6,000 prisoners have been freed since January. Most were detained for alleged involvement in mass protests that broke out three years ago in its Oromiya and Amhara regions over accusations of land grabbing and political marginalization.

On Thursday, the Federal Attorney General’s Office published a list of 746 inmates for pardon, including the journalist Eskinder Nega and opposition politician Andualem Arage.