The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says it welcomes Ethiopia's decision this week to release 115 detainees, including several leading political figures. U.N. human rights spokeswoman Liz Throssell told VOA that about 20,000 people were arrested during the state of emergency, which was lifted in August 2017. Discontinued casesThrossell said her office also welcomed the government's decision to discontinue cases against 400 other detainees. However, she said she was concerned that certain categories of prisoners would not be eligible for release. The U.N. human rights office is calling on the Ethiopian government to bring its anti-terrorism legislation and laws regarding civil society and the media in line with international human rights law and principles.

Source: Ethiopian News January 20, 2018 20:03 UTC