Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned that Tewodros Kassa, the imprisoned former editor-in-chief of the Amharic language weekly Ethiop, has been newly convicted on a four-year-old defamation charge, delaying his scheduled release from prison.
New York, July 23, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and five other press freedom groups (Article 19, Media Institute of Southern Africa, Media Foundation of West Africa, Media Rights Agenda, and the International Federation of Journalists) have written to Ethiopian Information Minister Bereket Simon expressing concern about the government’s latest draft of a proposed…
New York, April 6, 2004-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the recent jailing of an Ethiopian journalist, after he was unable to pay bail in a criminal defamation case. On Friday, April 2, Ethiopian authorities jailed Merid Estifanos, former editor-in-chief of the private, Amharic-language weekly Satanaw. According to local sources, Estifanos…
Although the number of journalists in prison in Africa at the end of 2003 was lower than the previous year, African journalists still faced a multitude of difficulties, including government harassment and physical assaults. Many countries in Africa retain harsh press laws. In the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, some…
During its 10 years in power, the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front has come under mounting criticism for its antagonistic attitude toward the country’s burgeoning private press. Authorities have used a restrictive press law to imprison journalists for critical reporting and to intimidate others into silence on sensitive issues, such as government infighting and…
There were 138 journalists in prison around the world at the end of 2003 who were jailed for practicing their profession. The number is the same as last year. An analysis of the reasons behind this is contained in the introduction on page 10. At the beginning of 2004, CPJ sent letters of inquiry to…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned by the Ethiopian government’s intervention in the affairs of the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists Association (EFJA), an independent organization dedicated to promoting press freedom and protecting the rights of journalists.
New York, November 12, 2003—The Ethiopian Free Press Journalists’ Association (EFJA) has received a letter from the Justice Ministry, announcing that the organization is suspended, because of failure to comply with audit and licensing requirements. EFJA president, Kifle Mulat, says the organization is being targeted for political reasons, but the government says EFJA has not…
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…