Ethiopia on Monday said it was dropping charges against 528 political prisoners, the first such group since a decision announced earlier this month to release political prisoners. Among them is Merera Gudina, the Oromo scholar and longtime opposition leader. State-owned Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC), FANA Broadcasting and other news outlets…
Federal prosecutors in Ethiopia have set a November 3 hearing date in the case of Merera Gudina, the head of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) who has remained in custody since a November 2016 arrest. Merera, a 61-year-old scholar and lifelong human rights activist, entered long-delayed not guilty pleas on…
Ethiopia lifted last week the state of emergency imposed since October 2016, but the decision has raised questions about what happens to those detained during mass arrests on politically motivated charges during that time. Among them is Merera Gudina, the academic and longtime opposition leader whose arrest was – according…
Federal prosecutors in Ethiopia maintained their argument Tuesday that their terrorism case against Merera Gudina, head of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), need not be separated from a file that includes charges against other defendants that his defense says have nothing to do with Merera. Merera was arrested in November…
Ethiopian courts have adjourned until June 2 the case of leading opposition leader Merera Gudina, chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), who has denied charges of terrorism lodged against him. A hearing scheduled for Thursday followed last week’s 11-page response, presented by Merera and his legal team, arguing that…
Back in November, Jawar Mohammed of the Oromia Media Network (OMN) said he thinks that the Ethiopian government wants him dead. “Right now, I am probably the most wanted person by the Ethiopian government and I think the government is willing to kill me if they have a chance,” Mohammed told…
Merera Gudina, chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), appeared before an Ethiopian court on Thursday and denied any terrorism allegations in connection with his November 30 arrest. Merera told the court that he has spent his life opposed to violence and terrorism, and to teaching a better way, the…
In response to the arrest of longtime Oromo leader Merera Gudina, the Amnesty International organization swiftly condemned the decision of Ethiopian authorities on Thursday. “The arrest of Merera Gudina is an outrageous assault on the right to freedom of expression and should sound alarm bells for anyone with an interest…