Kenyan journalist Yassin Juma has been released from detention in Ethiopia but dozens of prominent opposition leaders and journalists remain locked up.
The refusal by the administration of Abiy Ahmed Ali to release protesters has sparked more protests at home and abroad, especially from members of the Oromo community in the United States.
Juma was released about a week after his lawyer said he had contracted coronavirus and needed immediate treatment.
The freelance reporter was detained in July in the capital, Addis Ababa, along with other journalists and opposition members, after the killing of popular Oromo musician Hachalu Hundessa sparked protests.
Ethiopian authorities said Juma has been moved to a state-run isolation facility for treatment, and will travel back to Kenya once he recovers.
They said he was wrongfully arrested but Kenya’s Foreign Ministry said he was released after its embassy in Ethiopia, sent several protests notes to Addis Ababa.
After the death of Hachalu, widespread protests mainly in the Oromia region, which is home to Oromos, the largest ethnic community in Ethiopia, left about 200 people dead and at least 9,000 others in detention.
Security forces have been accused of shooting at protesters during clashes, killing dozens and injuring many more.
Reports said a fresh wave of protests were planned in the Oromia region to call for the release of opposition leaders, journalists and activists.
Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa. Simon covers President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. government, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington D.C. and New York City.