Ethiopia’s northern Tigray regional state announced on Wednesday 23 May that it would pardon 2,206 prisoners.
In a press statement, Tigray regional state communication bureau, the pardon of the detainees which include 54 females is intended to coincide with the 27th anniversary of the defeat of military government led by ex-Ethiopian President Mengistu Hailemariam.
Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF), which rules over Tigray region, led a rebel movement, the Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), in the 1980s and early 1990s, resulting in the capture of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa on May 28, 1991.
The Ethiopian government has also characterised the mass prisoner release program as part of its efforts to foster reconciliation and create a national consensus.
