Abebe Gellaw is an exiled Ethiopian journalist and human rights activist who gained international prominence for protesting a speech by late Ethiopian dictator Meles Zenawi at the May 2012 G8 Food Security Summit by interrupting the speech and shouting, “Meles Zenawi is a dictator!” He was the first Ethiopian journalist to win the prestigious Knight Fellowship, as well as the Yahoo! International Fellowship. From 1996 to 1998, Gellaw was a senior reporter and columnist for the Ethiopian Herald, the only English daily in the country, after which he was exiled to the United Kingdom. Since 2005, he has been a regular contributor and columnist for major Ethiopian online media outlets. He is the executive director of Ethiopian Satellite Television & Radio (ESAT) and hosts a regular talk show on the station.
