Ethiopia releases 2,600 election demonstrators from prison News
Ethiopia releases 2,600 election demonstrators from prison

[JURIST] Ethiopian federal police Friday confirmed the release of 2,665 people arrested during recent election-related protests [JURIST report]. The Ethiopian Human Rights Council [advocacy website] had estimated over 3,000 arrests were made during demonstrations. According to police, the released prisoners were only minomally involved, but the cases of the others would require further investigation and the remainder would be tried in court. Pressure from the European Union [EU press release], donors and international humanitarian agencies is believed to have resulted in the mass release. Diplomats from the Irish, Swiss and US embassies inspected conditions at the federal prison where the protestors were held earlier in the week. South Africa's Mail & Guardian has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

No lynchings reported in US for first time

On December 30, 1952, the Tuskegee Institute reported that 1952 was the first year of no lynchings of African Americans in the United States in the 71 years it had kept records. Learn more about lynching and listen to Billie Holiday's jazz recording of the 1938 protest song Strange Fruit.

USSR established

On December 30, 1922, representatives of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and the Transcaucus approved the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR and the Declaration of the Creation of the USSR, creating the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). During World War II, the USSR would also annex Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Moldova. Learn more about the history of the USSR from the BBC.