Detained Ethiopian opposition figures and human rights lawyer Abera Nigus face relocation following a court bail ruling, raising concerns among supporters
Borkena Desk
(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.
Sources stated that when inquired about the transfer from federal police custody, police officials explained, “The prison where they were was overcrowded; that is why they were transferred to this station.” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s party has mounted a crackdown on opposition politicians and free press journalists for several years.
As a criminal defense lawyer, Abera Nigus represented political prisoners including high-profile cases like Taye Dendea, a former state minister for peace jailed days after openly criticizing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed by describing him as “a ruthless man who plays with the blood of the innocents.”
Security forces arrested Abebe Akalu, Abera Nigus, and Yishak Wolday on alleged terrorism charges in early August this year. Plainclothes security forces seized them from their residences.
The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP) has repeatedly demanded the unconditional release of political prisoners across the country and an end to ongoing conflicts in the Amhara and Oromia regions of Ethiopia.
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