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Legal Action
March 7
Solomon Lemma, Wolafen, IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Solomon, editor of the independent Amharic-language weekly newspaper Wolafen, was sentenced to an 18-month prison term for "publishing false reports in order to incite war and unrest." The reports in question, a series of articles published in 1995, were about an insurgency group fighting in three provinces in western Ethiopia. Solomon had just completed a one-year sentence without parole.
April 3
Alemayehu Kifle, Genanaw, IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Alemayehu, the editor in chief of the newspaper Genanaw, was arrested without charge as he was leaving a court in Nazareth, about 100 kilometers east of Addis Ababa, the capital. Just prior to his arrest, Alemayehu had been released from prison, where he had served time in connection with an article comparing Nazareth prisons to Nazi death camps. Cpl. Kassa Wayessa, director of prisons in Nazareth, ordered Alemayehu's rearrest. The editor was transferred to a prison in Addis Ababa and then released on May 6 on bail of 5,000 birr (US$800).
July 9
Mulugeta Lule, Tobia, LEGAL ACTION
Tobia, LEGAL ACTION
Mulugeta, manager of the independent monthly magazine Tobia and a weekly newspaper of the same name, was summoned to the Central Criminal Investigation Department at Ma'ekelawi Prison for questioning. Both he and Tobia were charged with violating Ethiopia's press law by not having a deputy editor in chief on staff. Mulugeta was also informed that he was under investigation in connection with an article published in December 1995, about a doctor who had unsuccessfully performed surgery on Maj. Admassie Zeleke, the former head of parliament. No charge has yet been filed in relation to that article. Mulugeta had to produce a surety bond of 10,000 birr (US$1,600) for each accusation. He has now given the authorities a total of 16 surety bonds, at 10,000 birr each, in connection with all the cases launched against him to date. Mulugeta, who is also vice chairman of the Ethiopian Free Journalists Association (EFJA), was released after four hours and is awaiting notification of a court date for a hearing.
December 11
Daniel Dershe, Kitab, IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
The High Court found Daniel, editor in chief of the now-defunct Amharic-language weekly Kitab, guilty of an unspecified charge and immediately remanded him into police custody. Officials have not released information about the length of his sentence.
December 12
Wesson Seged Mersha, Kitab, IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Wesson, publisher of the Amharic weekly Kitab, was sentenced to a six-month prison term and immediately jailed. Officials have not provided any reasons for his incarceration.
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