Ethiopia

The Ethiopian government ordered a state of emergency in October 2016 that permits draconian restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly. The order followed a year of protests during which security forces killed hundreds of protesters and detained tens of thousands. Authorities regularly used arbitrary arrests and politically motivated prosecutions to silence journalists, activists, and real or perceived opposition party members. Torture remains a serious problem in detention. The Ethiopian government has not conducted meaningful investigations into any of these abuses. Ethiopia is among Africa’s leading jailers of journalists and has little independent media. Repressive laws severely restrict the activities of nongovernmental organizations. The ruling party coalition won all 547 parliamentary seats in the 2015 election.