2002 Awardee: Fesshaye Yohannes
Eritrea: FESSHAYE YOHANNES Languishing in prison since the fall of 2001, prominent Eritrean journalist Fesshaye Yohannes staged a hunger strike in May with nine other colleagues in hopes of spurring their release. Instead, government officials transferred the journalists to an undisclosed location–and no one has heard from them since. Fesshaye (who is also known as…
CPJ condemns jailing of journalist
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the recent sentencing of Tewodros Kassa, former editor-in-chief of the Amharic-language weekly Ethiop, to two years’ imprisonment. Kassa is the second journalist to be convicted and jailed in Ethiopia during the last four months.
CPJ condemns jailing of journalist
New York, July 18, 2002—Ahead of a mission scheduled to arrive in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, on Monday, July 22, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today protested the sentencing of Tewodros Kassa, former editor-in-chief of the Amharic-language weekly Ethiop, to two years’ imprisonment. On July 10, Kassa was sentenced for violating Ethiopia’s restrictive Press…
Two local journalists jailed for their work; more than 30 face charges
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is outraged by the ongoing prosecution and imprisonment of journalists in Ethiopia. We are particularly concerned about Lubaba Said and Melese Shine, two local journalists who are currently in jail for their work.
Attacks on the Press 2001: Introduction
IN THE WAKE of September 11, 2001, journalists around the world faced a press freedom crisis that was truly global in scope. In the first days and weeks after the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., governments across the globe–in China, Benin, the Palestinian Authority Territories, and the United States–took actions to…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Africa Analysis
Silence reigned supreme in Eritrea, where the entire independent press was under a government ban and 11 journalists languished in jail at year’s end. Clamorous, deadly power struggles raged in Zimbabwe over land and access to information, and in Burundi over ethnicity and control of state resources. South Africa, Senegal, and Benin remained relatively liberal…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Ethiopia
The government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is no longer Africa’s foremost jailer of journalists, but severe structural and legal difficulties still impaired the growth of the independent press. Ethiopia’s rulers held one journalist in prison at year’s end, while seven others were freed in the course of the year.
Attacks on the Press 2001: Journalists in Prison
There were 118 journalists in prison around the world at the end of 2001 who were jailed for practicing their profession. The number is up significantly from the previous year, when 81 journalists were in jail, and represents a return to the level of 1998, when 118 were also imprisoned.
Editor released after nine months in prison
New York, March 5, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of Tamrat Zuma, former publisher and editor-in-chief of the defunct Amharic-language weekly Atkurot, after more than nine months in prison. At the beginning of 2001, seven Ethiopian journalists were in prison for their work, according to CPJ research, making Ethiopia Africa’s leading jailer…