Ethiopia Pardons Over 2000 PrisonersJanuary 26, 2018 - Ethiopia’s Oromiya Regional State President, Lema Megersa, announced that over 2,000 prisoners have been pardoned. The move is part of Ethiopia’s government efforts to calm unrest. The Ethiopian government has long been accused by rights groups of using security concerns as an excuse to stifle dissent and media freedoms. Last week the United Nations urged Ethiopian officials to review the status of a “large number of people” still behind bars. Laws placing “undue restrictions” on non-governmental organizations and restricting the media should also be revised, Throssell told a news conference in Geneva earlier this week.

Source: Ethiopian News January 26, 2018 21:22 UTC