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REUTERS
ADDIS ABABA
ETHIOPIA has passed a law that grants amnesty to political prisoners who have been released recently and reverses decades of security-obsessed rule.
The law is in line with a breathtaking series of political and economic reforms in Ethiopia, a country of 100 million people, since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in April. Among the reforms is a rapprochement with Eritrea.
The government of Abiy's predecessor, Hailemariam Desalegn, detained around 30,000 people, often under harsh anti-terrorism laws, in response to three years of protests. Detainees included students, opposition leaders, journalists and bloggers.
Security forces also killed hundreds to quell protests against economic mismanagement, inequality and repression.
"The law grants amnesty for individuals and groups either under investigation or convicted on treason, crimes against the constitutional order and armed struggle,"state-affiliated news agency Fana reported.
Abiy has decried state abuses and compared brutality by security forces to state terrorism. Local journalists say tens of thousands of detainees have been released since April. The information minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Several detainees say they were tortured and held underground in solitary confinement for months.
Abiy this month sacked the head of the prison service and other senior prison officials hours before a Human Rights Watch report detailed torture at one notorious prison and urged the government to hold officials to account.
