TheCable

An Ethiopian court has jailed Yonathan Tesfaye, a former spokesman of the Blue party, for six years and six months for allegedly posting inciting comments on Facebook.

According to NAN, Tesfaye was charged with stirring unrest and inciting terrorist acts.

The politician was said to have posted comments that criticised government’s handling of protests in Oromia region, on his Facebook.

The Oromia people protested their exclusion from political and economic power.

Human rights groups have said that hundreds were killed during clashes and rioting which calmed down after the government imposed a state of emergency in October.

The sentencing came a day after Getachew Shiferaw, a journalist, was found guilty of stirring up a revolt.

Shiferaw faces a maximum of 10 years in jail.

Amnesty International has described both Tesfaye and Shiferaw’s verdicts as “a further slap in the face for justice in Ethiopia.”

It accused the authorities of using the judiciary to silence dissent.