Political prisoners thrown to lions in Ethiopia
Reformist prime minister reveals torture practice thought to have ended decades ago

Lions, tigers and hyenas have been used to torture and intimidate political prisoners in secret jails throughout Ethiopia, the country’s reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has revealed.
Speaking to reporters, a visibly shocked Ahmed said: “It is hard to believe this took place in today’s Ethiopia but the animals were kept alongside the prisoners and used to force confessions as a tool of intimidation. People were raped and killed, looting was rampant. What happened there was shameful.”
He described a caged room where detainees were thrown to predators to extract confessions, comparing it to “a scene out of a movie or a fiction book”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Abdi Mohamed Omar, the former president of the country’s volatile Somali region, is accused of setting up the covert torture centres to suppress opposition to his tyrannical rule.
According to the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC), Omar was “arrested for allegedly being behind the human rights violations as well as the ethnic and religious clashes that have happened in the Ethiopian Somali region” after the country’s attorney general began examining possible charges.
The Times says “big cats have long been used as important power symbols in Ethiopia but the days of using them as tools of intimidation were presumed to have ended with the demise of Haile Selassie, the nation’s self-proclaimed divine emperor, who was overthrown 44 years ago”.
Omar was marched out of his house by police on live television, becoming just the latest high-profile figure to be arrested as part of the Prime Minister’s drive to stamp out corruption.
Ahmed only took office in April, yet the speed and scope of his reforms have stunned even his most ardent supporters.
Last month, he signed a landmark peace deal to end the two-decade long conflict with Ethiopia’s northern neighbour Eritrea. He also vowed to release thousands of political prisoners and open up state-owned industries to outside investment, all the while continuing his crackdown on corruption that has held back his country’s economic development for decades.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The state of Britain's Armed Forces
The Explainer Geopolitical unrest and the unreliability of the Trump administration have led to a frantic re-evaluation of the UK's military capabilities
By The Week UK
-
Anti-anxiety drug has a not-too-surprising effect on fish
Under the radar The fish act bolder and riskier
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
Sudoku hard: April 21, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK
-
Yes Band Aid, Ethiopians do know it's Christmas time
In the Spotlight East African nation was one of the first to adopt Christianity, but celebrates with other Orthodox Christian churches on 7 January
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK