Your Excellency:
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned by the
recent violent attack on Araya Tesfa Mariam, a journalist working for
the Amharic-language weekly Ethiop. On October 1, unidentified
assailants attacked and brutally beat Mariam near his home in the capital,
Addis Ababa. According to local journalists, Mariam is still receiving
medical attention for severe injuries to his skull, hands, and legs
sustained during the assault.
It is unclear who is behind this vicious attack. However, some local
journalists expressed concern that it may have come in reprisal for
his work for Ethiop, which publishes a regular column discussing
internal struggles in Your Excellency's Tigray People's Liberation Front
(TPLF), one of four parties in Ethiopia's ruling coalition.
As an independent organization of journalists dedicated to the defense
of our colleagues worldwide, CPJ urges Your Excellency to ensure that
a thorough, independent investigation into this attack is conducted
to determine who is responsible and the reasons for the assault. We
also ask that you make public all findings from the investigation. Such
action would send a reassuring signal to Ethiopia's badly shaken press.
Meanwhile, we will continue monitoring this case.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We await your response.
Sincerely,
Ann Cooper
Executive Director
