ETHIOPIA: Politician jailed for six years for Facebook comments

An Ethiopian court sentenced opposition politician Yonatan Tesfaye to six and a half years in prison on Thursday, the state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporation reported. Tesfaye, a former spokesperson for the Blue Party – one of the East African country’s main opposition parties – was found guilty earlier this month of encouraging “terrorism”. He was arrested […]

An Ethiopian court sentenced opposition politician Yonatan Tesfaye to six and a half years in prison on Thursday, the state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporation reported.

Tesfaye, a former spokesperson for the Blue Party – one of the East African country’s main opposition parties – was found guilty earlier this month of encouraging “terrorism”.

He was arrested in December 2015 after accusing the government of using disproportionate force against demonstrators in Facebook posts.

“We’ll appeal,” Blue Party Chairman Yeshiwas Assefa told AFP news agency. “This is freedom of expression.”

Tesfaye’s detention came shortly after the start of anti-government protests by the country’s largest ethnic group, the Oromos, which caused the government to impose a nationwide state of emergency last October.