Back in the dark: Ethiopia shuts down Internet again

According to a news report, the Ethiopian government has implemented a blanket Internet shutdown across Ethiopia, leaving the entire nation cut off from the Internet; infringing on the citizens’ fundamental rights to freedom of expression and access to information. According to the report, protests sprung up in the capital Addis Ababa and surrounding areas with people demanding justice after a prominent Oromo musician and social activist, Haacaaluu Hundeessaa, was gunned down by unknown assailants. Human rights activists have criticised the government’s persistence of Internet shutdowns whenever there is a crisis or emergency. Real time metrics shared by Netblocks shows that the country is offline as of 1:00 PM local time on 4 July, with the shutdown exceeding the 100 hour mark.