(OPride) — Ethiopia must revise its controversial and flawed anti-terrorism proclamation, and stop its routine application to stifle free expression and political dissent, the Oakland Institute and the Environmental Defender Law Center said in a new legal brief.
“Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism law is premised on an extremely broad and vague definition of terrorist activity,” the report said. “It is a definition that permits the government to repress internationally protected freedoms and to crack down on political dissent, including peaceful political demonstrations and public criticisms of government policy.”
The United Nations and numerous international human rights groups have long accused Ethiopia of criminalizing dissent using the 2009 anti-terrorism law, which according to the new analysis by the Oakland Institute, gives police and security forces unprecedented powers to curtail citizens’ rights. The damning 22-page report compiles existing legal analysis of the law and the government’s rampant misuse.