JUNE 7, 2005
Posted: June 13, 2005
Helen Mohammed, Voice of America
Temam Aman, Voice of America
Bereket Teklu, Voice of America
Taddesse Engidaw, Deutsche-Welle
Assegedech Yiberta, Deutsche-Welle
LEGAL ACTION
Amid violent post-election clashes between government security forces and opposition supporters, the Information Ministry revoked the accreditation of five Ethiopian journalists who were working for foreign media. Mohammed, Aman and Teklu of Voice of America (VOA); and Engidaw and Yiberta of Deutsche-Welle reported to the Ministry, where their work permits, which also serve as legal identification, were confiscated. The five journalists are Ethiopian citizens, working for VOA and Deutsche-Welle radio programs in local languages, including Amharic.
An Information Ministry statement which was carried in state media accused the journalists of filing "unbalanced reports" on the May 15 parliamentary elections, according to a translation by BBC Monitoring. The statement warned that the journalists would face "legal action" if they continued reporting, and said the government would "take similar action in [the] future if journalists are found filing false and unbalanced reports."
Local sources told CPJ that it was unclear which reports had specifically angered the government. The journalists had reported extensively on political campaigning, the voting itself, and the violent unrest that has seized the capital in the aftermath of the elections.
JUNE 28, 2005
Posted: June 30, 2005
Befekadu Moreda, Tomar
Zelalem Gebre, Menilik
Dawit Fassil, Asqual
Tamrat Serbesa, Satenaw
HARASSED, LEGAL ACTION
Police arrested four editors of private Amharic-language newspapers in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, CPJ sources said. The editors were charged with defaming the military, Ethiopian officials confirmed to Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Reuters.
Befekadu Moreda, editor-in-chief of Tomar; Zelalem Gebre, editor-in-chief of Menilik; Dawit Fassil, editor-in-chief of Asqual; and Tamrat Serbesa, editor-in-chief of Satenaw were held for over seven hours before being released on bail of 2,000 birr (about US $228) each.
A CPJ source and AFP reported that the charge stemmed from reports in the weeklies about Ethiopian air force pilots who allegedly defected during a training program in Belarus last week. Reports about the pilots, first published last week, were carried widely in local and international media.
Reuters reported that the charge was linked to the newspapers' reports on the country's violent post-election upheaval. The country's parliamentary elections on May 15 were followed by a deadly government crackdown on rioting opposition supporters who claimed the elections were riddled with fraud.
The arrests were the latest attempt by Ethiopian authorities to stifle information in the wake of the violence.
JUNE 30, 2005
Posted: July 12, 2005
Tadesse Kabede, Lisane Hezeb
Fassil Yenalem, Addis Zena
Daniel Gezahegne, Moged
LEGAL ACTION
The editors of three private weeklies were arrested and charged in connection with their work, according to CPJ sources and the Addis Ababa-based Ethiopian Free Press Journalists' Association (EFJA). Kabede, Yenalem, and Gezahegne were released after paying 1,000 birr (US$114) each in bail. Two other senior editors of Lisane Hezeb were summoned and released without paying bail.
Kabede has been charged with defaming the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in an article that criticized church leaders for allegedly failing to speak out against the government's deadly June 8 crackdown on opposition supporters in the capital, according to CPJ sources and EFJA. Gezahegne was charged with defaming the Defense Ministry for printing a wire service photograph of armed police officers threatening a young student during the crackdown, those sources said. Yenalem was charged with defaming the Defense Ministry after his newspaper ran an interview with a former military commander who was critical of the ruling party, these sources reported.
JULY 6, 2005
Updated: August 17, 2005
Abiy Gizaw, Netsanet
LEGAL ACTION
Gizaw, editor-in-chief of the private Amharic-language weekly Netsanet, was arrested and accused of defaming the Defense Ministry in connection with three separate articles, according to CPJ sources.
One of the articles alleged that officials in the Ethiopian air force were divided about how to handle post-election unrest; another reported on a separatist movement in Ogaden, an area of Ethiopia bordering Somalia; and a third reprinted a statement released by a group of air force pilots who defected during a training program in Belarus in June, according to these sources. Gizaw was released the same day after paying bail of 500 birr (about US$57).
In August, Gizaw was formally charged with "disturbing the peace of civilians" and "attempting to divide the national armed forces," according to the Addis-based Daily Monitor.
AUGUST 8, 2005
Updated: August 17, 2005
Tamrat Serbesa, Satanaw
IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Andualem Ayle, Ethiop
LEGAL ACTION
Tesfa Tegen, Ethiop
HARASSED
Ethiopia's Supreme Court sentenced Serbesa, editor-in-chief of the private Amharic-language weekly Satanaw, to one month in jail on a contempt charge after the editor refused to identify an unnamed source who criticized an earlier court ruling. Ayle, editor-in-chief of the private Amharic-language Ethiop, was fined in a related case.
Serbesa was found guilty of contempt of court in connection with his paper's coverage of a Supreme Court verdict in a case involving the National Election Board. The court rejected the opposition CUD party's claim that the election board improperly announced provisional results of the May 15 parliamentary elections before the final count was determined.
On July 7, the Supreme Court ordered Serbesa and Ayle, as well as Ethiop managing editor Tegen, to reveal the sources of anonymous quotes published in their newspapers criticizing the verdict, including one in Satanaw attributed to an unnamed lawyer who deemed the verdict "shameful."
Ayle was ordered to pay a fine of 2,000 birr (US$220) in the decision.
The charge was brought amid a government crackdown on Ethiopia's private press following the disputed election. Since deadly clashes between government security forces and opposition supporters erupted in early June, authorities have pressed criminal charges against more than 10 editors from the Amharic-language press in connection with their coverage of the election's aftermath. Many other journalists report being harassed or otherwise intimidated for their coverage.
Contributing to the repressive atmosphere for the independent press, senior government officials publicly threatened legal action against any journalist who "defame[s] the reputation and dignity of a government official or any individual," according to CPJ sources and a state radio report translated by BBC Monitoring.
AUGUST 23, 2005
Posted September 8, 2005
Fikre Gudu
HARASSED, IMPRISONED
A prominent newspaper distributor in the capital Addis Ababa, Gudu was arrested and detained for four days by police. The detention was in connection with an interview he gave to the private Amharic-language weekly Asqual about his one-month imprisonment in June, according to local sources who spoke to him after his release.
In the interview, which ran after his release on July 7, Gudu talked about his arrest and subsequent imprisonment in a detention center outside the capital. According to local sources, he described poor prison conditions and criticized the government for jailing him, saying his arrest was part of a crackdown on Ethiopian independent media. (For information on Gudu's previous imprisonment, see: http://www.cpj.org/news/2005/Ethiopia13june05na.html
During his August imprisonment, police accused Gudu of using the interview to spread false information and defame the police and prison system, according to the sources who spoke to Gudu. It is unclear whether he has been formally charged.
Gudu is based in the Addis Ababa neighborhood of Arat Kilo, where most of the capital's private newspapers are printed, CPJ sources said. His previous imprisonment and recent arrest may be part of a campaign to intimidate newspaper distributors, some local sources believe.
SEPTEMBER 9, 2005
Posted: September 22, 2005
Habdissa Abera, Dagim Wenchif
Abera Tezera, Dagim Wenchif
Eshetu Feta
Tadesse Kabede, Lisane Hezeb
Tigist Abraham, Lisane Hezeb
HARASSED
Police in the capital, Addis Ababa, arrested editor-in-chief Abera and deputy editor Tezera of the private, Amharic-language weekly Dagim Wenchif; former Dagim Wenchif editor Feta; and editor-in-chief Kebede and deputy editor Abraham of the private, Amharic-language weekly Lisane Hezeb. According to local sources, the editors were detained for several hours and questioned about reports in their newspapers alleging that opposition parties had won Ethiopia's May 15 parliamentary elections.
Official results released in September pronounced the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) the winner in the elections, which were marred by allegations of fraud and a violent crackdown on pro-opposition protesters following the vote. The main opposition CUD party claimed the elections had been stolen.
Authorities accused the five editors of publishing false information, according to local sources, although it was unclear whether they had been formally charged.
OCTOBER 10-13, 2005
Posted October 13, 2005
Kifle Mulat, EFJA
Taye Belachew, EFJA
Habetamu Assefa, EFJA
Sisay Agena, EFJA
HARASSED
Ethiopian police summoned and questioned the executive committee of the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists' Association (EFJA), an independent organization that criticized a government crackdown on the press after opposition parties disputed the outcome of May parliamentary elections.
Four EFJA leaders reported to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in the capital, Addis Ababa, where they were questioned about the organization's activities when it was officially banned from late 2003 to the end of 2004. The Federal High Court later ruled the ban illegal.
EFJA president Kifle Mulat, vice president Taye Belachew, accountant Habetamu Assefa, and treasurer Sisay Agena were fingerprinted, held for several hours, and questioned. The police made all four guarantee 2,000 birr (US$237) in bail.
A fifth executive committee member, public relations officer Tamiru Geda, was also summoned, although he was living in exile, according to local sources.
The EFJA was shut down in November 2003 after authorities claimed that the organization had repeatedly failed to submit a certified audit of its budget. However, some local journalists said that the audit was a pretext to close down an organization that had strongly criticized the government and Ethiopia's dismal press freedom record. Soon afterwards, the Justice Ministry notified the EFJA executive committee members that they were barred from carrying out any activities for the organization, including communicating with "third parties" in their official capacity. Throughout 2004, state-owned media and government officials continued to warn that the original members of the executive committee were barred from communicating with media outlets and foreign organizations, according to local sources.
In response to a legal suit brought by the executive committee against the Justice Ministry, the Federal High Court decided twice – in December 2004 and March 2005 – in the committee's favor, ruling that the Ministry's ban was illegal, according to local sources.
In interrogations, however, the CID accused the EFJA leadership of illegally carrying out EFJA activities, including issuing press releases and speaking with reporters on press freedom issues, during the ban. Mulat told CPJ that police officers claimed not to know about the High Court's decision.
NOVEMBER 2-29, 2005
Posted: December 2, 2005
Dawit Kebede, Hadar
Feleke Tibebu, Hadar
Zekarias Tesfaye, Netsanet
Dereje Habtewolde, Netsanet
Fassil Yenealem, Addis Zena
Wosonseged Gebrekidan, Addis Zena
Andualem Ayle, Ethiop
Nardos Meaza, Satanaw
Mesfin Tesfaye, Abay
Wenakseged Zeleke, Asqual
Serkalem Fassil, Menilik, Asqual and Satanaw
Iskinder Nega, freelance
Sisay Agena, Ethiop and the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists Association
IMPRISONED
In a massive crackdown on the private press following antigovernment protests, authorities arrested at least 13 editors and publishers in the capital, Addis Ababa. Police prevented most private newspapers from publishing; raided newspaper offices, confiscating computers, documents and other materials; and forced much of the remaining press into hiding. The journalists were jailed along with dozens of opposition and civil society leaders. On November 9, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi threatened to charge detainees with treason, which is punishable by death in Ethiopia.
The crackdown began amid clashes between security forces and opposition supporters who accused Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of rigging polls in May that returned him to power. More than 40 people were killed in a week of violence, which began on November 1.
Starting on November 5, the government released a list of people it planned to prosecute for attempting to "violently undermine the constitutional order in the country." The list identified 17 publishers and editors of eight private, Amharic-language weekly newspapers, in addition to opposition leaders, the heads of the Ethiopian Teachers' Association, and local representatives of the international charity Action Aid. It also included the president of the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists' Association (EFJA), Kifle Mulat. State media disseminated photographs of many of these journalists, and called on the public to tell police their whereabouts.
Security and intelligence agents arrested nine of the targeted journalists, many of whom were in hiding. Four more turned themselves in to police after their names were listed.
The detained journalists were not immediately charged. Several appeared in court, along with dozens of detained opposition leaders, trade unionists, and others arrested in the crackdown. They were denied bail, and their detention was extended while police investigated their supposed activities, according to local and international news reports.