1. Eskinder Nega is an Ethiopian journalist, blogger and politician who has been convicted several times by the Ethiopian government for treason and terrorism.
20 Facts About Eskinder Nega
1. 2.
In September 2019, Eskinder founded the Balderas Party and became a chairman thereafter.
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Eskinder Nega then formed and led Fano's main command named Amhara People's Army since May 2023.
4.
Eskinder Nega was born to highly educated parents, his father having done graduate work at Rutgers University and his mother at the American University of Beirut.
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Eskinder Nega moved to the United States in 1980s where he attended college, then studied economics at American University.
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Eskinder Nega returned to Ethiopia in 1991 after the Marxist Derg was ousted by EPRDF forces.
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Eskinder Nega founded other newspapers such as, Askual, Satenaw, and Menelik.
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Eskinder Nega was charged with the capital offenses of treason, "outrages against the Constitution" and "incitement to armed conspiracy".
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Eskinder Nega was found guilty and served seventeen months' imprisonment before being released by presidential pardon at the end of 2007.
10.
Eskinder Nega was arrested again along with four politicians on 14 September 2011 after publishing a column that criticized both the Ethiopian government's detainment of journalists as suspected terrorists and its arrest of Ethiopian actor and activist Debebe Eshetu.
11.
Eskinder Nega was found guilty of terrorism charges on 23 January 2012.
12.
On 13 July 2012, Eskinder Nega was sentenced to eighteen years in jail on charges of terrorism.
13.
In 2013, a UN panel found Eskinder Nega's jailing a violation of international law.
14.
In January 2018, the prison holding Eskinder Nega was announced to be shut down, with political prisoners freed in order to "foster national reconciliation".
15.
Eskinder Nega was only allowed freedom if he signed a confession saying that he was a member of the Ginbot 7 group designated terrorists by the federal government; but Eskinder refused, saying that it was a false confession.
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Eskinder Nega was freed on 14 February 2018, along with several other political prisoners.
17.
In September 2019, Eskinder Nega founded Balderas for True Democracy Party.
18.
On 25 April 2020, Eskinder Nega was arrested by Addis Ababa Police on grounds that are yet to be specified but released the same day.
19.
On 7 January 2022, during Orthodox Christmas, Eskinder Nega has been freed after one and half year in prison.
20.
Eskinder Nega is currently the leader of the Amhara People's Army faction of the Fano insurgency which is fighting against the government in the Amhara region.