"As Ethiopia hosts the African Union Summit, where regional leaders discuss important security challenges, the Ethiopian government is using the fight against terrorism as a cover to silence peaceful voices of dissent,” said CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita. “This sentence makes clear that Ethiopia’s growth and stability is dependent on an iron fist from a leadership intolerant of critical reporting or journalists seeking public accountability.”
Since 2011, the government of Ethiopia has convicted 11 independent journalists and bloggers under a sweeping antiterrorism law. Eskinder Nega has been jailed in Ethiopia since September 2011, while the other defendants are living in exile.