A U.S.-based rights group is urging the
government of Ethiopia to immediately release 17 Muslim leaders jailed
as part of a "brutal crackdown".
Human Rights Watch
says the men were among hundreds who were harassed, assaulted and
detained during protests at mosques in the capital, Addis Ababa, last
month.HRW says the crackdown followed months of peaceful demonstrations
against government interference in religious affairs, including attempts
to control Islamic teachings.
It says although most of those protesters have been released, the 17
Muslim leaders have been held for three weeks without charge or access
to lawyers.Ethiopian police have previously blamed the mosque's committee for
instigating the unrest and have warned foreign elements against
influence that may be fueling the protests.Human Rights Watch is calling on the Ethiopian government to address the
grievances of the Muslim community through dialogue and not violence.Muslims are Ethiopia's second-largest religious group, making up one-third of the country's 94 million people.The Ethiopian government has expressed concern about the influence of
Salafist, or Wahabist Muslims, who practice a more conservative form of
Islam.To combat this, the government has actively promoted the al-Ahbash sect
of Islam, which is based on the teachings of an Ethiopian scholar who
had been living in exile in Lebanon.
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