A university lecturer and prominent blogger in Ethiopia, Teshome Seyoum, was due to appear in court on Thursday (March 22) but the police failed to produce him, local media and rights group reported. Ethiopia cannot again use the cloak of a national emergency to round up journalists and stifle critical voices. He was put before court in the capital Addis Ababa and the judge gave police fourteen days to establish a case against him. “Ethiopia cannot again use the cloak of a national emergency to round up journalists and stifle critical voices,” Mahoney said in a CPJ statement reacting to Seyoum’s arrest. PM Desalegn is still holding on to his position temporarily as the ruling coalition’s council meets to elect his successor.

Source: Ethiopian News March 23, 2018 08:26 UTC