CAT/C/67/D/775/2016 armed fight against the Government of Ethiopia as a result of the latter’s planned reforms. It notes that, in July 2018, the Government of Ethiopia removed Ginbot 7 from its list of terrorist organizations. 23 The Committee observes that, in May 2018, the President of Ethiopia pardoned Mr. Tsege, the Secretary-General of Ginbot 7, and freed him from detention.24 While noting the complainant’s claims that the Government of Ethiopia arrests exiled dissidents upon their return to the country, the Committee observes that, in 2018, the Government granted amnesty to exiled Ethiopians who had been considered terrorists and political opponents and that the Prime Minister invited them to return to the country and pursue political life in a peaceful manner. 25 The Committee takes note of reports indicating that thousands of prisoners have been pardoned under the amnesty law26 and that concrete steps have been taken to ensure accountability for human rights violations by State officials.27 While noting the complainant’s fears that he would be targeted by the Ethiopian authorities because he had been photographed alongside Ginbot 7 leader Mr. Nega, the Committee observes that the latter returned to Ethiopia in September 2018 after all charges against him had been dropped and that he was welcomed back to the country by highranking government officials. 28 While noting also the complainant’s claim that his radio interviews on ESAT would place him at risk of persecution in Ethiopia, the Committee notes that, in 2018, the Government dropped all pending charges against bloggers, journalists and diaspora-based media organizations, including ESAT, which reopened in Addis Ababa in June 2018.29 8.10 The Committee notes the author’s argument that, in January 2019, the Federal Administrative Court upheld the asylum appeal of an individual who had claimed to have been imprisoned and tortured in Ethiopia because of dissident activities within the All Amhara People’s Organization and who had continued political activities against the Government of Ethiopia while in Switzerland. The Committee also notes that the Court concluded that, despite promising government reforms in Ethiopia, the situation in Ethiopia might become unstable again and that the future situation of political activists in the country was therefore unclear. However, the Committee recalls that it must examine whether the complainant currently faces a foreseeable risk of personal harm in Ethiopia. The Committee does not base its assessment on a hypothetical risk that individuals in the complainant’s situation could face if the regime, which has been in power for more than one year, destabilizes the political situation in the future. The Committee further notes that, in a separate decision also issued in January 2019, the Court denied the asylum application of an Ethiopian national who had alleged that he would face a risk in Ethiopia as a member of Ginbot 7 and because of his related political activities in Switzerland. 30 In that decision, after examining relevant reports, the Court considered that the situation in Ethiopia had fundamentally changed under the new Government. 8.11 Taking into account the aforementioned changes in the specific situation of members of Ginbot 7 in Ethiopia and the fact that the complainant was able to safely leave Ethiopia and return to it several times in 2011, the Committee considers that the information that the complainant provided does not suffice to establish substantial grounds for believing that, if returned to Ethiopia today, he would face a foreseeable, personal, present and real risk of being subjected to torture. 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 14 See, inter alia, Human Rights Watch, “Ethiopia”, in World Report 2019: Events of 2018 (New York, 2019). See BBC News, “Ethiopia frees abducted Briton Andargachew Tsege on death row”, 29 May 2018. See, inter alia, Reuters, “Ethiopia offers amnesty to recently freed political prisoners”, 20 July 2018; and International Crisis Group, “Managing Ethiopia’s unsettled transition“, Report No. 269, 21 February 2019. See, inter alia, Reuters, “Abiy’s Ethiopia pardons 13,000 accused of treason or terrorism“, 22 January 2019. See, inter alia, Amnesty International, “Ethiopia: arrest of dozens of security officials a first step towards accountability”, 12 November 2018. See, inter alia, Reuters, “After years in exile, an Ethiopian politician returns home with hope and fear“, 7 November 2018. See, inter alia, Human Rights Watch, “Ethiopia”, in World Report 2019: Events of 2018; and Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2019, “Ethiopia”. Switzerland, Federal Administrative Court, decision E-4254/2017, 8 January 2019.