The Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE) has acknowledged the recent release of poet Belay Bekele Weya, as well as journalists Belay Manaye, Tewodros Tsegaye, and Bekalu Alamirew, who had been imprisoned for several months under the state of emergency declared in the Amhara regional state.

While AHRE welcomed the release of these individuals, the organization expressed deep concern over the ongoing use of arbitrary arrests and the violation of fundamental human rights by the Ethiopian government. Despite these releases, AHRE stated that numerous other journalists, human rights defenders, artists, and politicians remain arbitrarily detained.

In the press statement, AHRE urged the government to uphold and respect the fundamental rights of all citizens, including the freedoms of expression and the press, as well as other basic human rights. The organization called on the government to ensure justice and fair trials for all those unjustly imprisoned, not limited to just journalists and human rights defenders, but encompassing all individuals detained under dubious circumstances.