Ethiopia’s government announced Monday it would release hundreds of people awaiting trial including imprisoned opposition leader Merera Gudina and would pardon others convicts in the coming months. The announcement came less than two weeks after the government promised to free jailed “politicians,” without giving details on who and how many people would be freed. The release of Merera, chairman of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), has been a key demand of protesters from the country’s largest ethnic group, the Oromos. The protests led to hundreds of deaths and prompted parliament to declare a 10-month state of emergency in 2016 to quell the unrest. It was unclear what kind of training he was referring to, but in the past Ethiopia has made prisoners attend pro-government lectures before being released.

Source: Ethiopian News January 15, 2018 15:00 UTC