In April, 2014, the government of Ethiopia charged and arrested nine members of the Zone 9 Bloggers Collective as principal participants in planning, preparing, conspiring and inciting to execute terrorism under the Ethiopia's 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation and 2004 Criminal Code. Soliyana Shimeles Gebremariam, one of the founders of the Zone 9, was charged in absentia. In July 2015, the prosecutor dropped charges against five defendants who were subsequently released. on October 16, 2015, the Federal High Court of Ethiopia for 19th Criminal Bench acquitted the remaining four members of Zone 9 bloggers including the one charged in absentia. Global Freedom of Expression could not identify the official legal and government records on the case and some information contained in this report was derived from secondary sources. Global Freedom of Expression notes that media outlets may not provide complete information about this legal matter. Additional information regarding legal matters will be updated as an official source becomes available.