Ethiopia’s attorney general said on 8 February that 746 more prisoners will be released, including a journalist and a senior opposition official who were jailed for conspiracy to commit terrorist acts.
About 417 of the pardoned inmates are federal prisoners jailed on terrorism, inciting violence, religious extremism and other related convictions.
The decision follows a series of changes announced by the government to try to reduce tension in the country. Nearly 6,000 prisoners have been freed since January. Most were detained in connection with mass protests and violence that broke out three years ago in the country’s Oromia and Amhara regions. The names of the prisoners have been forwarded to President Mulatu Teshome, who has the power to grant their freedom.
Mr Nega, a blogger and journalist, was arrested in 2011 and accused of trying to incite violence with a series of online articles. In the same case, Mr Arage, a member of the opposition Unity for Democracy and Justice party, was sentenced to life imprisonment. Both were among a group of 20 people on trial. Among the others were five exiled journalists who were sentenced in absentia to prison terms of 15 years to life.
The Federal Attorney General recently released 528 suspects, including 115 at the federal level, in the first round. The remaining 413 were from SNNP regional state.
Oromia and Amhara regional states also pardoned 2,345 and 3,503 suspects respectively.
