The African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) condemns in the strongest terms the 27-year sentence imposed on veteran Somali journalist, Mohamed Aweys Mudey, aged 48, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Ethiopian prosecutors accused Mudey of having information about Al-Shabaab operations in Ethiopia and charged him with participating in terror activities. Mudey, who was persecuted under Ethiopia’s anti-terror law, was arrested in Addis Ababa in November 2013. In February this year, when the 4-month period prescribed by anti-terror law to investigate a suspect elapsed, he was found guilty of the charges and given this harsh sentence.