Ethiopia: Opposition Leader Andargachew Tsige to Be Freed After 4 Years on Death Row

Addis Standard
Family and supporters of Andargachew Tsige await his return.
29 May 2018
allAfrica.com
By Melissa Britz

Cape Town — Prominent opposition leader Andargachew Tsige will be released after nearly four years on death row, reports Ethiopia's Addis Standard. The government has cited  "special circumstances" for his release.

There appears to have been some confusion after media outlets reported that he had been released yesterday, this was not the case.

The secretary general of Ginbot 7 was tried in absentia in 2009 under the country's infamous terror laws. He was arrested in 2014 at a Yememi airport and extradited to Ethiopia, according to Al Jazeera.

Another 6575 prisoners will also be released as part of efforts to widen the country's political space, the attorney general reportedly said.

Years of protests by Ethiopia's largest Ethnic group, the Oromo, has led to the closure of some prisons and the release of several thousand prisoners.

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