Amnesty urges Zambia to free vlogger jailed for hate speech

Zambia

Lusaka – Human rights group Amnesty International urged Zambia Thursday to release a US-based Zambian vlogger sentenced to 18 months in jail this week for hate speech against President Hakainde Hichilema.

Ethel Chisono Edwards, 42, was convicted on Tuesday after being arrested at the airport in September when she flew into the southern African country for her grandmother’s funeral.Edwards had issued a series of virulent social media posts over several months that included personal attacks against Hichilema, who is running for a second term at elections due next year.

“Zambia authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Ethel Chisono Edwards from arbitrary detention,” Amnesty International East and Southern Africa said in a statement to AFP.

“The right to freedom of expression protects not just agreeable speech, but also sharp criticism of those in power, a right Chisono Edwards is entitled to exercise without fear of imprisonment,” it said.

Chisono Edwards was sentenced under laws introduced in April this year to strengthen cybersecurity but which critics say undermine fundamental freedoms, including the right to privacy and freedom of expression.

Her jailing highlights “continuing concerns” about Zambia’s cybersecurity laws and provisions under the Penal Code which “remain overly broad and susceptible to misuse”, Free Press Initiative Zambia founder Joan Chirwa told AFP.

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Source: AFP

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