Ethiopian Lawyer Abera Nigus and EPRP Leaders Transferred to Undisclosed Location
Ethiopian lawyer Abera Nigus and several opposition leaders were transferred to undisclosed locations despite a court order granting them bail. Authorities claim the move was due to prison overcrowding, though critics view it as part of a broader crackdown on political dissent.
Why it matters
The incident underscores ongoing concerns regarding human rights, judicial independence, and the treatment of political prisoners in Ethiopia.
(TORONTO, Canada) — Lawyer Abera Nigus and detained Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP) leaders were reportedly transferred from the Federal Criminal Investigation Department—where they had been held for about a month—to undisclosed locations.
Ethiopia Media Service (EMS) cited an internal source on Saturday to report that Abebe Akalu, an opposition EPRP official, was separated from his colleague Yishak Wolday, the party’s public relations head, and lawyer Abera Nigus. The latter two prisoners were transferred to a different location alongside other inmates.
The incident occurred a day after the Federal High Court Lideta Bench ordered their release on a 50,000-birr bail.
Authorities arrested them on alleged terrorism charges.
Following reports of the transfer, their whereabouts remained unknown until this morning.
Social media sources reported this morning that Yishak Wolday and Abera Nigus were confirmed to be arrested at a police station in the Bole area of Addis Ababa.
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