The new Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, will travel to Minneapolis on Monday. Since taking office in April, Abiy has ushered in a new era of reform in Ethiopia. He released thousands of political prisoners, closed the Makelawi detention center – known for his torture and inhuman treatment – and opened Internet access to websites that have been blocked inside the country since then. years. Although the reforms it introduced are promising, the Prime Minister still has to tackle one of the biggest obstacles to lasting change – the lack of accountability for serious abuses, particularly the widespread use of torture.

Abiy's Minneapolis A few months after taking office – illustrates the importance of the large Ethiopian diaspora community in its plans for the future of Ethiopia. Human Rights Watch researchers have also been to Minneapolis over the years, most often to interrogate dozens of Ethiopian torture victims.

Torture has long been prevalent in Ethiopia, fueled by a pervasive culture of torture. official impunity. Victims from across the country have described brutal treatment by security officials for many years. In a recent report, we detailed the torture at Jail Ogaden in the Somali regional state, where prisoners suffered a relentless routine of interrogation, torture, humiliation, starvation, sleep deprivation, and rape

. their wounds, while women prisoners delivered in prison cells without any health care. The prisoners did not have access to lawyers or due process. In fact, many were not charged or convicted of any crime, but were told that they were suspected of belonging to the Ogaden Liberation Front (ONLF). , an opposition group recently legalized by the new prime minister 's government.

Ethiopians who gather in Minneapolis to greet Prime Minister Abiy may well include survivors of human rights abuses at Ogaden Prison and many other detention centers in Darfur. other parts of the country. This is a rare opportunity to highlight the importance of accountability for torture and other rights violations over the years – abuses that have driven many Ethiopians to seek safety in the United States or elsewhere

. include concrete discussions on pathways to accountability. In a speech to parliament in June, the Prime Minister acknowledged that torture in Ethiopia is comparable to "state terrorism". After Government Media Reports of Abuse and Genital Torture in Federal Detention Centers, 19659002] These are good first steps, but given the complexity of the problem, the dismissal of some staff members will not solve the culture of torture and inhuman treatment of prisoners in Ethiopia.

The victims and the improvement of the administration of detention sites throughout the country are essential. The Prime Minister now has an excellent opportunity to badure the Minneapolis diaspora community that those responsible for the torture and other violations of rights, regardless of their rank, will be the object of 39, a thorough investigation and will be held responsible. It should also ensure that detention centers are monitored and closely monitored at the regional and federal levels.

Prime Minister can also be transparent by opening the country's detention centers to human rights observers and unequivocally declaring The meeting in Minneapolis is an important occasion for the Ethiopian administration to build a bridge of trust with the Ethiopians here in the United States and to demonstrate that the old methods are over for Ethiopians all over the world. the world

Maria Burnett is badociate director of Africa at Human Rights Watch.