Nine government-critical bloggers and journalists have been charged with terrorism in Ethiopia after being accused of receiving financial aid and instructions from “terrorist groups”.
The three journalists and six bloggers, all belonging to the social media activist group Zone 9, are accused of working in collusion with the banned US-based opposition group Ginbot 7 and were held without charge since April.
"They took training in how to make explosives and planned to train others," the AFP news agency quotes Judge Tareke Alemayehu saying.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said that the Ethiopian government was trying to stifle opposition and media freedom in the country and called for their immediate release.
"Expressing critical views is not a terrorist act. Once again, the Ethiopian government is misusing anti-terrorism legislation to suppress political dissent and intimidate journalists," Tom Rhodes, CPJ's East Africa representative,said in a statement.
