Ethiopia releases detained teachers on bail

Oct 7, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopia has released on bail two detained teachers who were arrested last month after their union complained about government interference, a global human rights group said Saturday.

Amnesty International said the pair — Wasihun Melese and Anteneh Getnet, who were taken into custody on September 23 — had been provisionally freed on Thursday, pending additional police investigations into their case.

“Amnesty International welcomes the release on bail of Wasihun Melese and Anteneh Getnet on 5 October,” the London-based group said in a statement. “They have not been charged with any offence.”

It said their case had been adjourned until next week with police given more time to bring charges against them.

On September 27, Amnesty expressed fears for the safety of the pair who it said were being held “incommunicado” in an Addis Ababa prison and “at risk of torture, ill-treatment or ‘disappearance’.”

Both men are senior members of the Ethiopian Teachers’ Association (ETA), which has been vocal in its criticism of the government’s education policies, and Amnesty said their arrests may be linked to the complaints.

Numerous ETA activists have been arrested since May 2005 and the Ethiopian government has made several attempts to replace the union with a pro-government organization with the same name, the group said.

Some were detained in massive crackdowns on dissent following eruptions of violence that killed scores of people after that month’s disputed general election.

(STAFP)