Six Zone 9 bloggers were arrested in April 2014Ethiopia released a jailed opposition leader and journalist on Wednesday and dropped charges against a group of bloggers in a wave of prisoner releases and pardons. An AFP videographer said politician Andualem Arage and journalist Eskinder Nega left a prison in the capital Addis Ababa before a crowd of about 100 supporters. "We now urge the Ethiopian government to drop charges against other journalists and to implement the reforms needed for a free press to flourish." "The judge says they have dropped charges," blogger Atnafu Berhane told AFP. Six Zone 9 bloggers were arrested in April 2014 as part of a wider crackdown in the East African country.

Source: Ethiopian News February 14, 2018 12:37 UTC