Bekele Gerba, a politician from Ethiopia's opposition party, said to the BBC that he has asked the US government for political asylum because of the worsening conditions in his country. He said he quit his job as vice-chair of the main opposition party in Ethiopia's Oromia region, which is the home state of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. "I have informed the United States that my life is not safe in Ethiopia," he said in an interview with the BBC. "He said that most political party offices have been shut down. " The person who was once held in prison accused the government of killing prisoners without a trial, killing large numbers of people, and making many arrests. The people in charge said before that these accusations are not true. Ethiopian politicians who disagree with the government have been talking about how the political situation is getting worse, but the government disagrees with them. Mr Bekele was in prison for a year and a half because he was accused of serious crimes like terrorism and encouraging violence after the death of singer Hachalu Hundessa. The politician, whose party refused to participate in Ethiopia's nationwide election, has been in the United States since June of last year. Last month, Human Rights Watch said that seven important leaders from the opposition group called Oromo Liberation Front are being held in prison without a fair reason. They have been there for almost three years. The organization wants them to be set free right away.