Ethiopia’s Notorious Former Torture Center to Open to Public

(Bloomberg) -- A former Ethiopian interrogation and detention center infamous for the torture of the country’s most prominent opposition figures will be turned into a museum as part of reforms in the Horn of Africa nation.

Maekelawi, in the capital Addis Ababa, was closed last year in April after a decision to shut it was reached in December 2017. For the next four days, the public can visit the facility before it becomes a museum, Attorney General Berhanu Tsegaye told the national broadcaster ETV.

Opposition leaders such as Bekele Gerba and Merara Gudina were incarcerated at Maekelawi under the previous administration, so were journalists Eskinder Nega and the Zone 9 bloggers.

To contact the reporter on this story: Samuel Gebre in Abidjan at sgebre@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Malingha at dmalingha@bloomberg.net, Helen Nyambura, Pauline Bax

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