Jawar, who is a member of the opposition party Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), is a rival to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Both men are from the Oromiaย region, home to Ethiopiaโs largest ethnic group.ย Jawar, a polarising media mogul, helped Abiy come to power in 2018ย but the pair have since fallen out.
As AFPย reported, Jawar wasย arrested in July 2020 following violence that erupted with the assassination of Oromo singer and activist Hachalu Hundessa.
Aย postย shared nearly 500 times on Facebook features a screenshot of what appears to be a tweet from a user with the handle โ@i_babtistโ.
โGood news. The US embassy is hopeful that Jawar Mohammed and et al cases be dismissed and released โ tomorrow (sic),โย the screenshot reads.
The pro-Oromo page that shared the screenshot has repeatedly promoted content in support of Jawar.
The post has a photo showing Jawar with three other OFC high ranking members: Bekele Gerba, vice-chairman, Merera Gudina, chairman, and Hamza Borana, member (left to right).
Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken on February 8, 2021
By searching the comments section on the Facebook post, AFP Fact Check found a post claimingย to link to the original tweet from @i_babtist. However, we found no trace of this tweet on @i_babtistโs Twitter timeline.ย 
Screenshot of comment, taken February 11, 2021
AFP Fact Checkย have previouslyย debunkedย a post from the same Twitter account falsely claiming that Abiy was poisoned and flown overseas for medical treatment.ย
As of February 11, 2021, Jawar and several other leaders of the OFC remain in prison. All OFC members seen in the picture, with the exception of Merera have been on a hunger strike, demanding better treatment for visiting family and supporters and an end to legal and other harassment of Oromo opposition politicians. AFP covered the storyย here.
US embassy refutes the claim
The US embassy in Ethiopia refuted the claim that it had said it was โhopefulโ Jawarย would be released soon.ย
โWe have no record of such a comment from the US embassyโ, it told AFP Fact Check on February 9, 2021.
Read the original story on AP
