Ethiopia

2011

  
An Ethiopian court has sentenced Swedish journalists Johan Persson (left) and Martin Schibbye to 11 years in prison. (AFP)

In Ethiopia, Swedish journalists handed prison terms

New York, December 27, 2011–In a highly politicized trial, two Swedish journalists have been sentenced in an Ethiopian court to 11-year jail terms after being convicted of supporting terrorism and entering the country illegally, according to news reports.

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Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson could be sentenced to up to 18 years. (Reuters)

CPJ condemns trial of Swedish journalists in Ethiopia

New York, December 21, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an Ethiopian court’s decision to convict two Swedish photojournalists today in what appears to be a politicized trial.

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Ethiopia must free convicted Swedish journalists

December 21, 2011–Today’s conviction of two Swedish journalists by an Ethiopian court is emblematic of Ethiopia’s increasing use of antiterrorism laws to persecute independent media, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

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CPJ

In Nairobi, plans to improve aid to exiled journalists

Kassahun Yilma left Ethiopia quickly in December 2009. He didn’t have time to save money for the journey, choose a place to go, arrange housing or a job. He left his wife, his mother, his house and all his friends behind. Yilma didn’t know what lay ahead. He only knew that if he stayed, he…

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Awramba Times featured parliamentary affairs, health issues, women's issues, satire, and folklore. (CPJ)

Awramba Times is latest Ethiopian paper to vanish

A couple of weeks ago, newspaper editor Dawit Kebede, an International Press Freedom award winner, fled Ethiopia. Sadly, Dawit’s Awramba Times is the latest in a long list of Amharic-language private publications to vanish from the market following the incarceration or flight into exile of their editors.

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Imprisonments jump worldwide, and Iran is worst

Stark regional differences are seen as jailings grow significantly in the Middle East and North Africa. Dozens of journalists are held without charge, many in secret prisons. A CPJ special report

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The government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, foreground, is holding seven journalists, most on anti-state charges. (Reuters)

Intimidation or imprisonment by ‘democratic instruments’

Three years ago, I met Minister Bereket Simon at his office at the center of Addis Ababa. I was with my colleague Abiye Teklemariam — who was recently charged with terrorism, treason and espionage along with five other journalists, including myself.

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Kebede, left, is presented with a 2010 CPJ award by Wall Street Journal editor Robert Thomson. (Afrikanspot)

Dawit Kebede joins Ethiopia’s exiled journalists

New York, November 21, 2011–Dawit Kebede, managing editor of Awramba Times, one of Ethiopia’s two remaining independent Amharic-language newspapers offering critical analysis of local politics, announced today that he was forced to leave the country after he received a tip last week about alleged government plans to re-imprison him. Kebede also said that the paper…

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An Abé Tokichaw column from March 2011 (CPJ)

Ethiopian satirist silently joins ranks of the exiled

Newspaper satirist Abebe Tolla, better known as Abé Tokichaw, fled Ethiopia fearing imprisonment in retaliation for critical news commentaries, media reported this week. His exit was overshadowed by the trial of opposition figures and journalists on charges of terrorism. In an interview he gave to U.S.-based Addis Neger Online from an undisclosed location, Abebe said…

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From left: Nega, Gellaw, Negash, Teklemariam, Yenealem, and Belew. (CPJ)

Ethiopia charges six journalists with terrorism

New York, November 11, 2011–A judge in Ethiopia’s federal high court charged six journalists with terrorism on Thursday under the country’s antiterrorism law, bringing the number of journalists charged under the statute since June to 10, CPJ research found. 

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2011