Ethiopian authorities have pardoned two Swedes jailed for ‘supporting terrorism’.The news comes a year after Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye were taken into custody and incarcerated by the Ethiopian government for travelling with rebel groups in the eastern portion of the country. Both men have since maintained that they have done no wrong and were only there to document the group.
But officials said on Monday that late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi had given an official pardon to the two men shortly before he died in August. The two were likely to be set free on Tuesday 10 September, which is the Ethiopian New Year and is the standard day on which pardoned prisoners are released.
The two men had been convicted of supporting the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), which is classified as a terrorist organisation by the Ethiopian government.
The ONLF represents a minority group in parts of eastern Ethiopia and has been involved in numerous conflicts with Addis Ababa for nearly four decades. However, ONLF leaders have recently reached a peace deal with the government, although smaller groups continue to battle with local authorities.
Both Swedish men confessed during the trial to speaking with ONLF leaders but said they had never carried weapons with the group, contrary to some allegations.