[JURIST] Kenyan police Saturday confirmed that Ethiopian authorities have released eight suspected Kenyan terrorists, saying that the suspects have been reunited with their families. Kenyan authorities rendered the suspects to Somalia in early 2007, where they were handed over to the Ethiopian military and questioned by both US and Ethiopian intelligence. Kenyan officials will continue to monitor the released individuals, but declined to indicate whether they will face criminal charges. On Wednesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website; JURIST news archive] called on the Ethiopian government [HRW materials; JURIST report] to release rendition victims or prosecute them in an open court that meets basic fair trial standards. Xinhua has more.

The governments of Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia have all denied illegally transporting and jailing people, claiming they have only taken action against legitimate suspects. Human Rights Watch initially raised the east African rendition issue in March 2007 when it reported [JURIST report] that the US, Kenya, and Ethiopia were cooperating with the transitional government of Somalia to detain refugees from the recent conflict there. Canada, Sweden, and Eritrea subsequently pressured Ethiopia [JURIST news archive] to reveal additional details regarding foreign nationals allegedly held in secret prisons [JURIST report].