SummaryOn October 9, 2016, the Ethiopian government announced a country-wide six-month state of emergency. This followed a year of widespread protests against government policies that state security forces violently suppressed, killing hundreds of people and detaining tens of thousands. For example, violence has occurred in only two of Ethiopia’s nine regions, affecting less than half the country, yet the geographic coverage of the state of emergency is country-wide. These restrictions also give legal backing to practices undertaken by Ethiopian security forces to limit access to information since the protests began in November 2015. Many of those released report torture in detention, including in military camps but very few are ever charged.

Source: Ethiopian News October 31, 2016 03:08 UTC