Addis Abeba — When Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stood before Parliament in 2018 and admitted that the very state he led had tortured its own citizens under the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, it was seen as a rare reckoning and a promise of change.
Today, that promise lies shattered, betrayed by a new law that not only revives but entrenches the systematic tools of repression, signaling that the window for change is all but closed.
On 17 June 2025, Parliament passed the Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Proclamation - a law that not only revives but expands the very machinery of state-repression the Prime Minister denounced.
Cloaked in technocratic language and framed as a "national security" necessity, the proclamation grants sweeping powers to security forces while stripping away meaningful judicial safeguards.
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At its core are provisions that erode due process and human dignity. Article 31 offers blanket immunity for actions taken "in good faith" by undercover agents, effectively legalizing abuse. Articles 32 and 33 authorize surveillance and infiltration without judicial oversight, while Article 34 permits secret trials and anonymous witnesses - stripping defendants of the right to confront accusers or mount a full defense.
Equally troubling is the proclamation's dangerously vague definition of terrorism, borrowed from expansive international treaties and Ethiopia's already-criticized Proclamation No.1176/2020. With terms like "directly or indirectly," "common purpose," and "contributes," the law casts a wide net - broad enough to ensnare peaceful dissent, protest, or political opposition. The proclamation's extraterritorial reach ("whether located in Ethiopia or elsewhere") further illustrates its potential for abuse.
This is not a break from the past; it is its continuation
In a January 2018 editorial, Dismantling Ma'ekelawi is long overdue, this publication argued that without addressing the institutional rot at the heart of Ethiopia's security and justice system, no proclamation - no matter how progressive in language - would bring real reform.
Since the coming to power of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) alone has documented a disturbing pattern of state abuse, including 52 cases of enforced disappearances and illegal detentions between 2023 and 2024. Victims were abducted in unmarked vehicles, held in military camps without charges, denied legal access, and subjected to torture and extortion, often in defiance of court orders.
This is not merely a failure of policy; it is a calculated dismantling of judicial authority. Court-issued warrants are meaningless when ignored by the police. Oversight mechanisms are hollow when torture is rewarded with immunity. What good is a legal process if the law itself is designed to shield abusers?
Officials claim that judicial safeguards are embedded in the law. Yet the well documented pattern of abuse by law enforcement agencies over the past seven years proves otherwise: security forces routinely bypass courts, detain citizens without charge, and hold them in secret sites. These are not rogue incidents, they represent a system functioning exactly as designed. What good is a warrant when the court is powerless to enforce it?
By granting immunity to undercover agents and placing surveillance and detention mechanisms beyond the reach of courts or watchdogs, the proclamation has legalized the very acts that Prime Minister Abiy proclaimed to stand against. This is not security - it is state violence under the cloak of law.
The ramifications of its implementation are multidimensional. It erodes what's left of public trust in the state. It radically undermines the legitimacy of the judiciary - what is left of it. It breaks what's left of the social contract between citizens and the state. And it mocks the very notion of democratic transition that authorities are proclaiming consistently.
Call for accountability and independent review
This publication rejects the dangerous premise that the new proclamation is either inevitable or beyond challenge. No law that undermines the full force of due process should be allowed to remain part of Ethiopia's legal framework.
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We therefore call for the immediate independent review of the proclamation to bring it into alignment with both the Ethiopian Constitution and binding international human rights standards before it goes into effect. This moment demands not only the independent review of this proclamation but also a robust judicial oversight against those who are empowered under its cover.
Finally, any future security legislation must be drafted through an inclusive and transparent process, one that centers the voices of legal scholars, civil society advocates, and communities most affected by the state's coercive apparatus. Only then can Ethiopia begin to repair its institutions and restore faith in the rule of law.
Ethiopia has a moral and legal obligation to align its counter-terror laws with human dignity, constitutional integrity, and international law.
Torture admitted is not justice. Torture legalized is not reform.
