New York, June 27, 2012-The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s conviction of Ethiopian blogger Eskinder Nega on baseless terrorism charges. “The Ethiopian government has once again succeeded in misusing the law to silence critical and independent reporting,” said CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita. “The charges against Eskinder are baseless and politically motivated in reprisal for his writings. His conviction reiterates that Ethiopia will not hesitate to punish a probing press by imprisoning journalists or pushing them into exile.”
Police arrested Eskinder in September 2011 directly after publishing an online article that questioned arrests under the country’s sweeping anti-terror legislation. Eskinder is among 11 independent journalists and bloggers that the government of Ethiopia has charged with terrorism since 2011.