Ethiopia Pardons More Journalists, Politicians

Ethiopia’s state-run media yesterday reported that 746 prisoners would be pardoned, including renowned journalist Eskinder Nega, opposition politician Andualem Arage, and many other political prisoners. While pardons are not uncommon in Ethiopia yesterday’s announcement is welcome news. But whether these releases are a genuine step towards a more open political and media space is unclear. While they have not been released yet, yesterday’s statement comes after several announced releases of prisoners over the last five weeks that followed the government’s January 3rdpledge to release some prisoners.…

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