Opposition official convicted for Facebook post

An Addis Ababa judge last week found a former opposition spokesperson guilty of encouraging terrorism with a series of anti-government Facebook posts. A report on the News24 site notes that Yonatan Tesfaye was arrested in December 2015 after writing on the social media platform that the government had used 'force against the people instead of peaceful discussion'. While Yonatan's lawyer and defence witnesses argued the former spokesperson of the opposition Blue Party was exercising his right to free speech, Judge Belayhun Awol ruled the comments 'exceeded freedom of expression'. Yonatan faces a possible sentence of between 10 and 20 years under the country's anti-terrorism laws.