ETHIOPIA TO RELEASE PRISONERS

Addis Ababa, March 25: Ethiopia announced Wednesday it would free thousands of inmates from the country’s overcrowded prisons in a bid to curb the spread of the Covid-19.

Attorney General Adanech Abebe told state media the measure would apply to more than 4,000 prisoners, many of whom are locked up for “petty crimes” and drug offences or have less than a year remaining on their sentences.

“4,011 prisoners have been given pardons,” Adanech said, adding that the releases would begin Thursday. Conditions in Ethiopia’s prisons are “harsh and in some cases life threatening,” marred by “gross overcrowding and inadequate food, water, sanitation, and medical care,” according to the latest annual human rights report on Ethiopia from the US State Department.

As of Tuesday, Ethiopia had confirmed 12 cases of Covid-19 after conducting 480 laboratory tests, according to the Ethiopian Public Health Institute. Officials at the institute say all the cases involve people who travelled from abroad or had direct contact with people who travelled from abroad. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has ordered measures to prevent widespread transmission of the

Covid-19, including shutting land borders and limiting overcrowding in buses and taxis. But his appeals to practice social distancing have fallen on deaf ears, as large crowds continue to form in the capital, Addis Ababa, for religious ceremonies and other events.