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Ethiopia's Anti-Terrorism Law stifles dissent

February 1, 2016
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WBEZ's Worldview

The 26th African Union Summit came to a close over the weekend. It was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Despite the fact that human rights were a major focus of the gathering, Ethiopia’s government is under heavy international scrutiny, accused of continued human rights and civil liberty abuses. A new report by the policy and human rights think tank, Oakland Institute, titled Ethiopia's Anti-Terrorism Law: A Tool to Stifle Dissent, details how the Ethiopian government imprisons, oppresses and harasses critics under its “2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation.” Anuradha Mittal is executive director of the Oakland Institute. Mittal and Lewis Gordon, co-author and editor of the report, join us to discuss their findings. Gordon will tell us why he wrote that the “law defines terrorism in an extremely broad and vague way so as to give the government enormous leeway to punish words and acts that would be perfectly legal in a democracy. ”