Ethiopia's top prosecutor said Monday that charges against 528 prisoners detained in connection with anti-government protests would be dropped, and the inmates would be released on Wednesday. General Prosecutor Getachew Ambaye indicated that individuals already convicted and sentenced in connection with the protests were not among those set for release. Last week, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said the government would release an unspecified number of prisoners, although initial reports that he had promised to release "political prisoners" were retracted. According to human rights groups, an estimated four thousand political prisoners currently are behind bars in Ethiopia. Getachew said authorities will set free 115 suspects at the federal level along with 361 suspects in the Dilla district and 52 in the Konso district.

Source: Ethiopian News January 15, 2018 14:15 UTC