Ethiopia

2012

  
Members of the European Parliament take part in a voting session in Strasbourg, France, on June 13, 2012. (AFP/Frederick Florin)

Members of European Parliament call to free Eskinder

On December 18, 16 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) wrote an open letter to Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn calling for the immediate release of the independent journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega, who was condemned in July to 18 years in prison under the country’s tough 2009 anti-terrorism legislation.

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Number of jailed journalists sets global record

Worldwide tally reaches highest point since CPJ began surveys in 1990. Governments use charges of terrorism, other anti-state offenses to silence critical voices. Turkey is the world’s worst jailer. A CPJ special report

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CPJ

Video: Campaign to free the press

(CNN) The imprisonment of journalists hit a record high in 2012, driven by the growing use of anti-terrorism charges to silence critical voices. This video, a centerpiece of CPJ’s new Free the Press campaign, details the plight of imprisoned journalists worldwide and describes how international advocacy can make a difference in winning the freedom of…

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Police detained a journalist covering this protest by Ethiopian Muslims today. (EthioTube)

Ethiopia harasses Voice of America and its sources

Nairobi, October 5, 2012–Ethiopian authorities should halt their harassment of journalists covering the country’s Muslim community and their intimidation of citizens who have tried to speak to reporters about sensitive religious, ethnic, and political issues, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police in the capital, Addis Ababa, briefly detained Marthe Van Der Wolf, a…

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People gather at a candlelight vigil to commemorate the first anniversary of the arrest of imprisoned blogger Eskinder Nega. (George Newcomb)

Vigil in DC honors Ethiopian blogger Eskinder Nega

Writer, journalist, blogger, and free speech activist Eskinder Nega, the 2012 recipient of PEN American Center’s Freedom to Write Award, lived in Washington, D.C., before returning to his native Ethiopia to start one of the country’s first-ever independent newspapers. On Friday, Eskinder was back in D.C.–not physically, but as the subject of a candlelight vigil…

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Swedish journalists Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye appear on state television. (ETV/YouTube)

Ethiopia should release journalists still in prison

Nairobi, September 11, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Ethiopian government to set free six journalists in prison for their work, a day after Swedish journalists Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye were pardoned and released from Kality Prison in the capital Addis Ababa.

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CPJ welcomes Ethiopian pardon of Swedish journalists

Nairobi, September 10, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists is relieved to learn the Ethiopian government has pardoned Swedish journalists Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye today.

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The health of Temesghen Desalegn has deteriorated in prison, but he has been denied medical care. (Awramba Times)

Ethiopia frees prominent journalist, drops all charges

New York, August 28, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s decision by the Ethiopian Ministry of Justice to release the editor of a leading independent weekly from jail and drop all criminal charges against him. CPJ also calls for the release of eight other journalists now imprisoned in Ethiopia for their work. Temesghen Desalegn,…

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Temesghen's articles, published in Feteh, above. (Feteh)

In Ethiopia, Feteh editor jailed during trial

New York, August 23, 2012–Ethiopian authorities must immediately release Temesghen Desalegn, editor of the leading weekly Feteh, who was ordered jailed today pending his trial on defamation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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The late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, shown here in 2010. (AFP/Simon Maina)

In Meles’ death, as in life, a penchant for secrecy, control

Ethiopians awakened this morning to state media reports that Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, 57, the country’s leader for 21 years, had died late Monday in an overseas hospital of an undisclosed disease. Within seconds, Ethiopians spread the news on social media; within minutes, international news media were issuing bulletins. Finally, after weeks of government silence…

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2012