“A new state of emergency declared on April 8, 2020, gives the government sweeping powers to respond to the pandemic, heightening concerns of further arbitrary arrests and prosecutions of journalists and government critics,” the group said. In particular, HRW cited the detention of Elizabeth Kebede, a volunteer lawyer with the Ethiopian Women’s Lawyers Association, one of the leading women’s rights groups in the country, who is accused of “disseminating false news in Facebook posts.
“The authorities should drop charges against Yayesew Shimelis, release Elizabeth Kebede, and stop detaining people for peacefully expressing their views,” Laetitia Bader, Horn of Africa director at HRW, said, as quoted in the statement.On March 16, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the first anti-coronavirus measures, which included a call on “media institutions to deliver accurate information to the public.”All rights reserved.