Federal High Court Judge Zerai Weldesenbet resigned

The EPRDF’s leadership in Ethiopia has been accused of violating basic human rights for the last 27 years. It has been reported that people have suffered persistent and pervasive violations, in particular, of civil and political rights and, other forms of massive human rights abuses that have resulted in crimes against humanity. But after Prime minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in April, Ethiopians have overseen drastic changes that have reshaped the nation’s socio-economic and political trajectory. Part of the reform led by the prime minister was releasing thousands of political prisoners in the country. It is then that stories of unimaginably cruel human rights abuses committed by security forces started coming to light. In a documentary that aired a few weeks ago on three state-affiliated TV stations, former prisoners revealed the pervasive torture, rape, and horrific detention conditions they have endured. One of the people who was accused of violating human rights by the prisoners was Ato Zerai Weldesenbet, a federal high court judge. Parliament’s Speaker Tagese Chafo announced to the house that Judge Zerai submitted his resignation voluntarily to Federal Judicial Administration Council.