ETHIOPIA After the state of emergency was declared in October, protests subsided but human rights violations increased. 1 Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Head of state: Mulatu Teshome Wirtu Head of government: Hailemariam Desalegn EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE Prolonged protests over political, economic, social and cultural grievances were met with excessive and lethal force by police. The crackdown on the political opposition saw mass arbitrary arrests, torture and other ill-treatment, unfair trials and violations of the rights to freedom of expression and association. On 9 October, the government announced a state of emergency, which led to further human rights violations. BACKGROUND In response to sustained protests in Oromia and Amhara regional states, the authorities introduced reforms. However, these failed to address the protesters’ grievances, including those relating to: economic, social and cultural rights; respect for the rule of law; and the release of prisoners of conscience. Protests in Oromia that began in November 2015 against the Addis Ababa Master Plan, which would have expanded the capital at the expense of land owned by Oromo farmers, continued even after the government cancelled the plan in January. In late July, people in Amhara region protested against the arbitrary arrest of members of the Wolqait Identity Amhara SelfDetermination Committee and demanded additional regional autonomy in accordance with the Constitution. There was also a series of protests for greater administrative autonomy by the Konso community in Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Region. After at least 55 people were killed during a stampede during the Oromo religious festival of Irrecha on 2 October, allegedly caused by heavy-handed policing, activists declared a “week of rage”. Some demonstrations turned violent, with protesters burning and demolishing businesses and government buildings. 156 The security forces used excessive and lethal force against protesters. By the end of the year, the security forces had killed at least 800 people since the protests began in November 2015.2 On 6 and 7 August, for example, when an open call to protest was made in Addis Ababa, government forces killed at least 100 people. More than 1,000 protesters were arrested and taken to Awash Arba military base, where they were beaten and forced to do strenuous exercise in hot weather. FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND ASSEMBLY The crackdown on human rights defenders, independent media, journalists, bloggers, peaceful protesters as well as members and leaders of the political opposition intensified during the year, often using provisions of the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (ATP).3 The declaration of the state of emergency signalled further restrictions on freedom of expression, including intermittent blocking of the internet. Under the state of emergency, more than 11,000 people were arrested and detained without access to a lawyer, their family or a judge. Among those arbitrarily arrested were Befeqadu Hailu, a member of the Zone-9 blogging group; Merera Gudina, Chair of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC); Anania Sorri and Daniel Shibeshi, members of the former Unity for Democracy and Justice Party (Andinet); and Elias Gebru, a journalist. Four members of the national NGO, the Ethiopian Human Rights Council – Addisu Teferi, Feqadu Negeri, Roman Waqweya and Bulti Tessema – were arrested in Neqmte, Oromia. UNFAIR TRIALS Political activists faced unfair trials on charges brought under the ATP, which includes overly broad and vague definitions Amnesty International Report 2016/17