Ethiopia: Oromo Prisoners to Be Charged as Terrorists

The government said Thursday that it was preparing to charge more than 100 prisoners with terrorism, and dismissed calls by a rights groups to release them immediately. The government said it had arrested 121 people in March and accused them of being members of the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front rebel group. Human Rights Watch said the government had arrested more than 200 members of the Oromo ethnic group since March in a crackdown on political opponents. A government spokesman, Shimeles Kemal, said the suspects would be charged with terrorist activities. “Nobody was arrested only for involvement in opposition politics,” he said.