The Ministry of Justice in Ethiopia has declared that all charges against military and civilian members of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have been dropped. The charges were related to various criminal offenses, and the decision was made based on the Permanent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed between the federal government and the TPLF.
The agreement was reached with the understanding that crimes related to the conflict should be dealt with through transitional justice, taking into account international experiences. According to the Ministry of Justice’s statement, as such, the charges against the civilian and military leaders of the TPLF who were accused of suspected crimes have been dropped. Their cases will now be dealt with within the framework of transitional justice.
The dropping of the criminal charges came after the TPLF was removed from the terrorism blacklist. The rebel group had been detained since January 2021.
The federal government and the TPLF signed a cessation of hostilities agreement in November 2020, which brought an end to a two-year-long conflict in the north. With the charges against the TPLF leaders now dropped, it remains to be seen how the transitional justice process will unfold.