Ethiopian opposition leader Merera Gudina has been freed after more than a year in detention.
Ethiopian opposition leader Merera Gudina has been freed after more than a year in detention.
(africanews)—Merera becomes the first ‘political prisoner’ to be released since Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn announced on 3 January that the government will pardon several convicted politicians and those with cases in court in a bid to foster national cohesion.
Prison authorities told his family that he was released on Wednesday morning and allowed to go back home.
Merera, the leader of the Oromo Federalist Congress, has been in prison since December 2016 and was facing multiple charges, including association with terrorist groups.
He denied the charges.
Free at last! Jailed opposition leader in #Ethiopia Dr Merera Gudina freed after more than a year in detention. #MereraGudina pic.twitter.com/EM3YB0DSIk
— Stefan Simanowitz (@StefSimanowitz) January 17, 2018
A letter announcing to discontinue the multiple criminal charges brought by federal prosecutors against Dr. #MereraGudina has been issued by the attorney general Getachew Ambaye. It stated charges were dropped “for the benefit of the public and the government.” cc: @Belay_Ma pic.twitter.com/3gcM4n379N
— Addis Standard (@addisstandard) January 17, 2018
Earlier this month, the government said it would pardon and drop the cases against more than 500 prisoners.
The announcement followed more than two years of anti-government protests that have rocked the country, with demonstrators calling for political and economic reforms and an end to state corruption and human rights abuses.
Ethiopia had always denied that there were any political prisoners in the country, as alleged by human rights and opposition groups.
ዶ/ር መረራ ጉዲና ተፈተው ከሰፊው የጭቆና እስር ቤት ተቀላቅለዋል
በፌዴራል ጠቅላይ ዓቃቤ ሕግ ክስ ተመሥርቶባቸው ጉዳያቸውን በፌዴራል ከፍተኛ ፍርድ ቤት ልደታ ምድብ ወንጀል ችሎት በቀጠሮ በመከታተል ላይ የነበሩት ዶ/ር መረራ ጉዲና እና 22 ተከሳሾች ክሳቸው እንዲቋረጥ መወሰኑ ተረጋገጠ፡፡
በዋና ጠቅላይ ዓቃቤ ሕግ አቶ ጌታቸው አምባዬ ፊርማ ለፌዴራል ከፍተኛ ፍርድ ቤት ልደታ ምድብ ወንጀል ችሎት የተላከው ደብዳቤ እንደሚያመለክተው፣ ዶ/ር መረራም ሆኑ ሌሎች በክስ ላይ የነበሩ ተከሳሾች ክሳቸው ተቋርጧል፡፡
‹‹ . . . በፌዴራል ጠቅላይ ዓቃቤ ሕግ ማቋቋሚያ አዋጅ ቁጥር 943/2008 አንቀጽ 6/3/ሠ መሠረት፣ ለሕዝብና ለመንግሥት ጥቅም ሲባል ክሱ እንዲነሳላቸው የተወሰነ መሆኑን አስታውቃለሁ፤›› ሲሉ ዋና ዓቃቤ ሕጉ፣ በተለያዩ መዝገቦች የተከሰሱ ግለሰቦች ክሳቸው መቋረጡን ለችሎቱ አስታውቀዋል፡፡
ሰኞ ጥር 7 ቀን 2010 ዓ.ም. ከፌዴራል መንግሥትና ከደቡብ ክልል ብቻ በመጀመርያ ዙር 528 ሰዎች ክስ መቋረጡን፣ አቶ ጌታቸው በሰጡት መግለጫ አስታውቀው ነበር፡፡
በፌዴራል መንግሥት 115 ክሶች መቋረጣቸው የተገለጸ ሲሆን፣ እስከ ማክሰኞ ጥር 8 ቀን 2010 ዓ.ም. ምሽት ድረስ ዶ/ር መረራን ጨምሮ በወንጀል ችሎቱ በቀጠሮ ላይ የነበሩ የ22 ተከሳሾች ክስ መቋረጡን ለማረጋገጥ ተችሏል፡፡
Dr. #MereraGudina is quoted as saying this during his interview with state-affiliated media shortly before he left the Qilinto prison this afternoon. #Ethiopia pic.twitter.com/vOo6xZSz4x
— Addis Standard (@addisstandard) January 17, 2018
Here, Dr. #MereraGudina is seen giving an interview to journalists from state media shortly before he left the prison. A reporter at the national TV, EBC, earlier said he was waiting to interview Dr. Merera during the briefing session by the prison authorities pic.twitter.com/8S3WlKBKZf
— Addis Standard (@addisstandard) January 17, 2018
In Burayu town, some 23 km in the western outskirt of #AddisAbeba, the youth are waiting for Dr. #MereraGudina with banners that read (rough translation): “Incarceration & intrigue will not reverse the #Oromo struggle” & “When oppressed, even milk bursts out of its container.” pic.twitter.com/SmY9KvC9Mp
— Addis Standard (@addisstandard) January 17, 2018
#Ethiopia: Massive turnout to welcome Dr Mararaa Guddinaa in Burayu town. pic.twitter.com/VAVw2Ta4cm
— Addis Gazetta (@addisgazetta) January 17, 2018