Oct 27, 2006, 13:00 GMT
Addis Ababa - A lawyer working for the European Commission in Ethiopia was released by authorities after being held for one week, an commission source said on Friday.
Yalemzewd Bekele was one of two Ethiopians accused of being smuggled across the border to Kenya by two European Union delegates who were swiftly expelled from the country after being stopped by police near the border.
The source, who wanted to remain unnamed, said Bekele was released Thursday evening. Her condition upon being released is still unknown.
Human rights watchdog Amnesty International last week warned that Bekele was at high risk of being tortured.
'Amnesty is concerned that she is at high risk of torture or other ill-treatment,' the group warned in a statement, adding that Bekele was apparently arrested in relation with the distribution of an opposition plan for non-violent civil disobedience.
State-owned Ethiopian TV reported last Thursday that police had arrested the two EU diplomats for allegedly smuggling two Ethiopians wanted by authorities across the border to Kenya.
Their move 'violates the sovereignty of the country while jeopardizing the security of the nation,' the report quoted a statement by Ethiopia's immigration department as saying.
The statement said the two Ethiopians were wanted for 'serious crimes.' Amnesty said Bekele was arrested in connection with her support for the country's political opposition party.
The EU is Ethiopia's largest trading partner and one of its biggest donors, but has criticized the country for violating political rights after last year's elections saw scores of opposition party members arrested by the government.
The bloc halted budgetary aid to Ethiopia in the wake of the poll and the wave of violence that followed.
The chief observer for the EU during the Ethiopian elections last week urged the EU to better protect local staff working for the bloc's delegations abroad.
'They EU is not only responsible for its European officials but also for their local people,' European Parliament deputy Ana Gomes told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
'We must stop pretending that Ethiopia is run by a respectable government when in fact it has a murderous and oppressive regime,' the Portuguese Socialist MEP said.
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