At a press conference, journalists from state media and the Oromia Media Network, an outlet previously banned and accused of terrorism, sat side by side. Yared Hailemariam, the executive director of the Swiss-based Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia, told CPJ said that the media stand accused of "aggravating" tension. But even so, some, like Befekadu, said they feared the hate speech law could have a "chilling effect on freedom of expression." Abel told CPJ that publications have a hard time attracting advertisers, whom he said can be shy of being associated with critical publications. The regional government made initial promises to investigate, but Mereja TV chief executive Elias Kifle told CPJ in April that authorities had not investigated the crime.

Source: Ethiopian News April 29, 2019 19:07 UTC