BBC Amharic – What did the amnesty document presented to those accused of terrorism related to the Amhara regional crisis include? And how did the defendants respond?
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Disclaimer: This is an English translation of an Amharic article taken from DW Amharic and is intended solely for information purposes.
BBC Amharic – What did the amnesty document presented to those accused of terrorism related to the Amhara regional crisis include? And how did the defendants respond?
August 12, 2026 (Nehase 6, 2018 EC)
Proceedings are underway to pardon over three hundred politicians, journalists and others charged with terrorism in connection with the conflict in Amhara Region.
As reviewed by BBC the pardon document presented to the accused asked them to take responsibility for the killings and losses which occurred in the region.
Persons facing various terror-related charges in connection with the ongoing conflict in Amhara Region including elected officials and media professionals, have received a notice from authorities granting them release from detention on the condition they plead guilty, which has been met with various responses according to BBC’s sources.
The persons facing terror charges arrested for over three years and in some cases longer received a document (form) through the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) stating they would be released if they plead guilty, according to sources close to the matter who spoke to BBC.
Since June 8, 2026 (Sene 1, 2018 EC) EHRC Chief Commissioner Berhanu Adelo has spent more than a month conducting dialogue between the defendants and authorities after which they personally received documents with preconditions calling on them to plead guilty.
Following the supposed negotiation led by Ato Berhanu Adelo the document was delivered to an estimated more than 300 defendants facing terror charges say sources.
Among the defendants held in various correctional facilities who received the document, the majority signed however there are some who did not according to received information.
Among those who refused to sign rejecting the preconditions were over 30 defendants including politicians and media professionals.
The prosecutor laid charges on the defendants in relation to insecurity in Amhara Region including killings, physical injuries and property losses and other terror crimes.
The document calls on them to plead guilty to the terror crimes laid against them as reviewed by BBC and according to a letter signed by thirty of the defendants.
The document they were asked to sign included the following points according to their letter, “you must take accountability for the conflict in Amhara Region, including the thousands of people who died or who were injured (the figure varies between different case files), and take responsibility for the billions in property losses.”
In addition, it stated they (defendants) must state that their belief is that “the country must be led by Amhara expansionists and their vision” and that this stance is criminal.
Furthermore, the document included that they must acknowledge they stood for the belief that “improperly taken Amhara lands must be restored” and that this belief is criminal.
The document also indicated as a precondition that they must condemn “extremist forces” referring to militants operating in the Amhara Region.
The document called on the defendants to plead guilty of the crimes they were accused of, and to vow not to partake in similar acts ever again or else accept authorities’ right to “enforce necessary measures.”
However, the letter stated they were unwilling to accept the preconditions listed in the letter.
“We will not sign saying we are criminals. This is unacceptable by legal, moral and political means” said the thirty defendants who added “we believe the grievances of the Amhara people are lawful.”
As they were undergoing defence proceedings in rejection of the charges against them, they were unwilling to sign stating they were “criminals” say three sources close to the matter who spoke to BBC.
The defendants expressed that they have been denied justice for more than three years while “their families were subjected to various kinds of hardships” and their stance was to call on the state to “lift the charges against them and release them through political means.”
We had asked the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, which facilitated supposed negotiations between the defendants and the state, for comment. However, the commission’s spokesperson said they had no information on the matter. The commission also expressed that it was difficult to provide information on such matters outside of information released through its own communications.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission Chief Commissioner along with other executives from the commission conducted a visit to the Federal Correctional Facility Commission’s Kilinto Temporary Appointment Center during the month of Tahasass (sometime between December 10, 2025 and January 8, 2026). During the visit, they held discussions with the defendants regarding human rights conditions and other matters before returning which they expressed at the time.
Our sources say Chief Commissioner Berhanu Adelo began the negotiation initiative over six months after their discussion with the defendants facing terror charges.
Efforts to obtain comment from the defendants’ attorneys regarding the plea were unsuccessful at this time as they were unwilling to comment.
Despite this we asked one legal expert about proceedings related to requesting and granting pleas from a legal perspective, and they said as long as a defendant has not been sentenced to a crime, they cannot undergo a plea process.
Legal expert and lawyer Ato Ermiyas Tilahun says in accordance with Ethiopia’s criminal code section 229, in order to grant a plea, there must be a “determined guilty verdict.”
Similarly, a plea can be requested only for a decision that has been passed or a ruling which has been made, he explained. In accordance with provisions regarding the submission of a request for plea under declaration 840/2006 section 15, any person found guilty of a crime and given a maximum sentence may request a plea personally, through a close relative or a legal representative. For this reason, a plea request cannot be made in the absence of a ruling explained Ato Ermiyas.
During the circumstances which followed the 2005 (1997 EC) elections when Professor Berhanu Nega, Birtukan Mideksa and others were sentenced their case was seen through a plea after which they were released, and similarly after the 2018 (2010 EC) “governance change” there were also persons released, he raised as examples.
According to legal experts, even a convicted defendant who is on appeal process cannot ask for amnesty.
The defendants facing terror charges who received a signature form to accept preconditions as part of a plea arrangement facilitated by the EHRC have yet to receive justice as their legal proceedings are at different stages.
Legal experts explain in accordance with law they can only be lawfully released if the charges laid against them are lifted and they are granted a pardon.
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