Police free 336 people arrested during political unrest

Ethiopian police have freed 336 prisoners seized in a government crackdown during a week of political unrest in which at least 36 people were killed, officials said on Friday. More people will be freed in the coming days, said government spokesman Zemedkun Teckle after the first reported release since the fighting broke out. Human rights organisations said thousands of people had been arrested across the country. The detentions were related to the 6-8 June demonstrations, when protestors took to the streets in Addis Ababa to denounce alleged ballot rigging during parliamentary elections on 15 May. Police were unable to specify the exact number of people arrested. "More people will be released," said Zemedkun. "Anyone found not to have been involved in political unrest would be freed." The move followed Britain's decision to freeze 20 million pounds sterling (US $36 million) in aid to Ethiopia because of the crackdown on the demonstrations. The main opposition group, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), said that up to 120 of its staff throughout the country had been jailed. Berhanu Nega, vice chairman of the CUD, said its supporters must be released if continued peace talks with the ruling party are to bear fruit. The ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) accused the opposition of instigating the violence, a charge opposition leaders denied. The CUD, for their part, said the government was guilty of electoral malpractice. The government denied the allegation. According to the state-controlled media, detainees who were released were given a police warning instead of being charged in court. "To stabilise the peace that is prevailing now in the city, the federal police have released 336 detainees after investigating their involvement in the violence of last week," the country's federal police said in a statement broadcast by state media. In a related development, the National Election Board has agreed to probe accusations of poll malpractice in some 200 constituencies. After reviewing the complaints lodged by political parties, the head of the board, Kemal Bedri, said that almost 40 percent of the contested seats merited investigation. The electoral board would order new elections or recounts if necessary. "We have an estimated figure of around 200 that we will investigate," Kemal said on Thursday. The board had been reviewing complaints in 299 of the 524 constituencies contested during the 15 May polls. Elections for the remaining 23 seats of the 547-seat parliament will be held in August. The ruling party has won 302 seats so far, and its allies garnered 21, according to provisional results. The opposition took 194 seats in the lower house of parliament. Political parties have lodged 61 types of complaints, which include allegations of gunmen intimidating voters, people being forced to vote for certain parties, ballot boxes being stuffed or disappearing and the number of ballots exceeding that of registered voters. "What action we take will depend on the outcome of the investigations," said election board spokesman Getahun Amogne. "We can order re-elections or recounts," he added. The board has set up 20 investigation teams comprised of both the ruling party and the opposition. Observers from the African Union, European Union and the Carter Center would be invited to witness the process.