Ethiopia Fires 5 Prison Officials Hours Before Release of Torture Report

Hours before the Human Rights Watch released a damning report on torture in an Ethiopian regional prison, the nation’s attorney general fired five top prison officials for human-rights violations. The Washington Post reports that Ethiopia “has long been criticized for its human rights violations and egregious prison conditions,” but that the new prime minister has condemned the use of torture in prison and has moved to hold regional prisons more accountable. Although the officials were not linked to Jail Ogaden, the prison condemned in the Human Rights Watch report for “pervasive torture, rape and horrific detention conditions,” Attorney General Berhanu Tsegaye fired them for “failing to discharge the responsibilities and respect prisoners’ human rights.”