On May 3, in conjunction with World Press Freedom Day, CPJ announced its annual choices of the top 10 Enemies of the Press worldwide. Those who made the list this year, as in the past, earned the dubious distinction by exhibiting particular zeal for the ruthless suppression of journalists. For the second consecutive year, the…
Ruth Simon Correspondent, Agence France-Presse Imprisoned Journalist Ruth Simon, a correspondent for the news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), has been in detention since April 25, 1997. Simon, an Eritrean citizen, was arrested after reporting that President Isaias Afewerki told participants at a seminar in Asmara that Eritrean soldiers were fighting alongside rebels in neighboring Sudan.…
For Ethiopia’s beleaguered journalists, the release of CPJ’s Attacks on the Press in 1996 in March brought international attention to their extremely precarious plight. In response, Tamrat Bekele, editor of the Addis Tribune, wrote the following editorial,which appeared in his newspaper on the day of the book’s release:
Attacks on the Press in Ethiopia 1992-1996 1992 December 7 Lucy Hannan, BBC, harassed Hannan, a correspondent for BBC, was briefly detained and threatened with expulsion by Ethiopian security officials at the airport in Addis Ababa. Hannan had gone to the airport to interview a U. S. military officer on his way to Somalia. She…
Although the government claims the Press Proclamation abolished censorship, it in fact bans dissemination of information that the government deems dangerous to the society. Hence, the law is often used as a government tool for post-publication censorship and punitive prosecution. According to Art. 8 of the Proclamation, the news media may not publish: Information designated…
RECCOMENDATIONS TO THE ETHIOPIAN AND U.S GOVERNMENT CPJ is encouraged that, while at the end of last year 31 journalists were in prison in Ethiopia, only nine journalists remain in detention as this report is going to press. Of those nine journalists, one is nearing completion of an 18-month prison term, and the rest were…