Nega served over 6 years of an 18-year sentence for his critical writing; he was ultimately released in April 2018. In July 2020, after returning to Ethiopia from exile and becoming politically active, he was detained amid major protests in Addis Ababa and held for nearly 18 months before being released in a group pardon by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. In February 2023, he was detained for two days.
