reeyot alemu

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News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, October 2013

CPJ launches US report Following CPJ’s release of its report on the state of press freedom in the United States, the organization is pursuing high-level meetings with the White House. CPJ had drafted six recommendations that were shared with President Obama, including calling for a guarantee that journalists would not be at legal risk or…

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Woubshet Taye's wife Berhane Tesfaye and their son accepted an award on behalf of the imprisoned journalist. (CPJ/Sue Valentine)

Africa’s journalists honor jailed editor Woubshet Taye

Journalists and media owners across Africa gave Ethiopian journalist Woubshet Taye a standing ovation in Cape Town on Saturday night at the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2013, but he wasn’t there to see it. Instead his wife and son accepted the Free Press Award on his behalf. Part of the citation for the award…

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At AU summit, Kerry should speak out for a free press

Dear Mr. Secretary: We are writing to bring to your attention the deteriorating state of press freedom in Ethiopia, where you will attend this year’s African Union Summit. A vibrant press and civil society is fundamental to hold governments accountable and to ensure long-term development and stability. As we mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Organization of African Unity, we ask that you include the issue of press freedom in your discussion of the challenges that Africa will face in the next half-century.

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CPJ calls on African Union to uphold press freedom

Dear Chairperson Zuma: We ask that you mark World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2013, by calling for the release of all journalists imprisoned in Africa and appealing for justice in the murders of journalists killed in the line of duty.

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Attacks on the Press in 2012: Ethiopia

The death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in August in a Belgian hospital brought an end to a 21-year rule characterized by repression of dissent and iron-fisted control of the independent press. His fatal illness was shrouded in secrecy. After Meles disappeared from public view in June, the government played down rumors of his illness…

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2012 prison census: 232 journalists jailed worldwide

232 journalists jailed worldwide As of December 1, 2012 Analysis: A record high | Video: Free the press | Audio: From a Cuban prisonCPJ Blog: Turkey’s path forward | Rwanda’s injustice

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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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Lamu town on Lamu island, which will be home to a major port project. (Lamu Studios)

The hazards of reporting all sides of the Lamu port story

Freelance photographer Abdalla Bargash had accompanied Kenya’s permanent secretary for transport, Cyrus Njiru, to cover a meeting with Lamu community members over the newly constructed Lamu port. The Kililana Farmers’ Association are concerned that the major construction on the once-sleepy island of Lamu off Kenya’s coast could encroach on their farmland. 

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Civil unrest grips downtown Kampala. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said journalists who covered the protests were 'enemies' of the country's development. (AP/Stephen Wandera)

Attacks on the Press: Development Trumps Freedom

Many African leaders continue to offer a false choice between stability and press freedom. Taking a cue from China, a key investor and model, they stress social stability and development over openness and reform. By Mohamed Keita

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From left: Woubshet, Reeyot, Kifle.

Ethiopia: Life sentence for blogger, prison for journalists

New York, January 26, 2012–A U.S.-based journalist convicted on politicized terrorism charges in Ethiopia was sentenced to life in prison in absentia today, while two other Ethiopian journalists received heavy prison sentences in connection with their coverage of banned opposition groups, according to news reports.

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