Ethiopian court jails politician for over 6 years

Former opposition spokesperson Yonatan
Tesfaye sentenced over posts criticising the
government's response to protests.

An Ethiopian court sentenced opposition politician Yonatan
Tesfaye to six and a half years in prison on Thursday, the
state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporation reported.

Tesfaye, a former spokesperson for the Blue Party – 
one of the East African country's main opposition parties – was found guilty earlier this month of encouraging "terrorism".

He was arrested in December 2015 after accusing the
government of using disproportionate force against
demonstrators in Facebook posts.

"We'll appeal," Blue Party Chairman Yeshiwas Assefa
 told AFP news agency.

"This is freedom of expression."

Tesfaye's detention came shortly after the start of anti-
government protests by the country's largest ethnic group, 
the Oromos, which caused the government to impose a

nationwide state of emergency last October.

"The defendant has acted in way that threatened the 
country's political, economic and social fabric," read the charge sheet, as reported by Fana.

In a letter released on Wednesday, 13 rights groups
 called  on the UN Human Rights Council (UNHCR) to urge Ethiopia during its June meeting to allow an independent
 investigation into "atrocities committed by security forces 
to suppress peaceful protests and independent dissent".

A crackdown on protests resulted in hundreds of deaths 
and thousands of arrests.

The letter echoes complaints by the UNHCR's High
Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, who said he was
 not allowed access to where the protests occurred during
a visit to Ethiopia this month.

The rights groups – including Human Rights Watch and
Reporters Without Borders – also called for the immediate
release of journalists, rights defenders, opposition leaders
 and other protesters "arbitrarily detained" during and after
 the protests.

The Ethiopian government has described the state of
emergency as a necessary step to restore order to
 protest- wracked parts of the country, while officials 
work to address the demonstrator's grievances.

The sentencing came a day after Ethiopian journalist
Getachew Shiferaw was found guilty of stirring "revolt".
 He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.

Amnesty International said Shiferaw's verdict was "a 
further slap in the face for justice in Ethiopia", and accused
 the authorities of using the judiciary to silence dissent.