Abbay Media News
Girma Alemu / Yassin Ibrahim
The Attorney General of the Federal government of Ethiopia has suspended the cases of 528 Ethiopian prisoners, it is reported. Out of the 528 proceedings 115 of them are being handled federally and the rest 413 of them are being seen by the corresponding authority in the Southern Region.
In his statement, the Federal Attorney General, Mr. Getachew Ambaye, said the prisoners whose proceedings are suspended are those who were accused during the uprising in Gedio at Konso Woreda. He further stated, except those proceedings that are suspended at the federal and Southern Region, the list of other prisoners from the rest of the country is not known yet.
The names of the individuals whose proceedings are suspended will be revealed in due course, added the Attorney General in his statement. According to Mr. Getachew Ambaye’s statement, those whose proceedings are suspended will be released by Wednesday of this week. He also disclosed that for those prisoners who are given sentences and are serving time, four assessment categories are designed. The work of separating them by the given criterion is in progress and will take time, he elaborated.
The four assessment methods are:
1. Those who did not lead or participate in the act of subverting the constitution or the constitutional system of government;
2. Those who did not lead or participate in the act or attempt of destroying main infrastructure;
3. Those that are not held responsible for the loss of life or for serious bodily injury and
4. Those who benefited from the system but were misled by others to participate in the uprising.
The Attorney General’s statements run against those told to the public at the four hours long press conference by the chairmen of the four major coalition member parties of the EPRDF. The four chairmen told the public that political prisoners will be freed and the notorious Kaliti prison shutdown.
But most, if not all, political prisoners in Ethiopia are accused of being members of either Patriotic Ginbot 7 Movement or that of the Oromo Liberation Front. Both PG7 Movement and OLF are designated as terrorist organizations and joining either organization is a legitimised reason to be charged under the “anti-terrorism law”.
Political analysts believe, it is a delay tactic to buy time and fool the international community by appearing to do something to keep their promise to release political prisoners.
