Ethiopian police arrest 13 for killing opposition leader
Ethiopian Police have arrested 13 suspects over the killing of a prominent opposition figure from the restive state of Oromia, Bate Urgessa, official regional media reported.
The body of Urgessa of the Oromo Liberation Front was found dumped on a road outside the town of Meki on Wednesday, shortly after he had been arrested by “government forces,” the party said.
The United States, the European Union and Britain have joined rights campaigners in calling for a full investigation into the killing of Urgessa, an outspoken politician who had spent several years in and out of detention.
Police in the East Shawa zone where Meki is located have arrested 13 suspects over the shooting, the Oromia Broadcasting Network said on Facebook late Thursday, adding that Urgessa had been buried at a ceremony in Meki that day.
No details about the suspects were disclosed.
The late 41-year-old had been released on bail early last month following his arrest alongside French journalist Antoine Galindo in February.
But he was arrested again late on Tuesday by “government armed forces” at a hotel in his hometown of Meki, 150 kilometres (90 miles) south of the capital Addis Ababa, OLF spokesman Lemi Gemechu had told AFP.
