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ETHIOPIA: Two more journalists arrested under antiterrorism legislation; fears of torture
PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) | RAN 52/11 | 27 September 2011
The Writers in Prison Committee of PEN International (WiPC) protests the arrest and detention of two more journalists under Ethiopia’s sweeping antiterrorist legislation. Sileshi Hagos and Eskinder Negawere arrested on 9 and 14 September 2011 respectively, accused of involvement with the banned political party Ginbot 7. They appeared before a court on 15 September and were remanded in custody for 28 days. There are concerns that Nega has been ill-treated in detention. Their arrest follows that of four other journalists, two Ethiopian and two Swedish, all imprisoned on terrorism charges since June this year (see previous alert http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/go/news/ethiopia-three-print-journalists-charged-with-terrorism-concerns-for-wellbeing. The WiPC fears that the journalists are being targeted for their critical reporting in violation of their right to freedom of expression. It calls on the Ethiopian authorities to drop the charges and release them, and in the meantime ensure that they are given immediate access to the medical treatment they require.
The following is a press release issued by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ):
- New York, September 16, 2011--Authorities in Ethiopia arrested http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Government-Critics-Detained-In-Ethiopian-Anti-Terror-Sweep-129845693.html two independent journalists this week on accusations of involvement in a terrorism plot, bringing the total number of journalists imprisoned since June under the country's far-reaching http://cpj.org/blog/2011/06/in-ethiopia-anti-terrorism-law-chills-reporting-on.php antiterrorism legislation to six, CPJ research shows.
- On September 9, Ethiopian security forces picked up journalist Sileshi Hagos at his home, local journalists told CPJ. A contributor to the Addis Ababa-based radio station 96.3 FM, Hagos was the former managing director of the now-defunct political monthly magazine Change, which used to cover the banned political group Ginbot 7 before it was designated http://cpj.org/blog/2011/06/in-ethiopia-anti-terrorism-law-chills-reporting-on.php a terrorist organization. He is also the fiancé of journalist Reeyot Alemu http://cpj.org/2011/06/ethiopian-journalist-likely-held-under-anti-terror.php, who has been imprisoned under terrorism charges since July, according to CPJ research. Authorities interrogated Hagos and confiscated his laptop shortly after they arrested Alemu, local journalists said.
- On Wednesday afternoon, security forces also picked up journalist and dissident blogger Eskinder Nega http://www.abugidainfo.com/?p=18842 [pictured left], local journalists told CPJ, adding that they suspected some of Nega's latest writings, including a column http://www.abugidainfo.com/?p=18798 criticizing the government's arrest of the famed Ethiopian actor Debebe Eshetu on terrorism charges, triggered his arrest.
"In the past four months, authorities have used sweeping terrorism laws to detain six independent journalists in an attempt to wipe out the few critical voices left in the country," said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes. "If the authorities have credible evidence against any of these journalists, let them present it publicly. Otherwise, they must release them."
Shortly after Hagos and Nega were arrested, the ruling Ethiopian
People's Revolutionary Democratic Front-controlled state television
portrayed
Hagos and Nega were presented in court on Thursday and remanded into police custody until October 12 to allow the police to carry out their investigations, local journalists told CPJ. Police specifically forbade visitors in the courtroom when Nega was in court, local journalists told CPJ.
Nega and his wife, Fasil, were imprisoned for 17 months on antistate charges for their critical coverage http://cpj.org/reports/2006/04/ethiopia-da-spring-06.php of the brutal government repression of peaceful protests following the disputed 2005 elections, according to CPJ research. Both were eventually acquitted and released http://cpj.org/2007/04/ethiopian-high-court-acquits-eight-journalists-on.php in April 2007, but authorities have since blocked http://cpj.org/2008/02/ethiopia-lifts-restraints-on-licenses-to-2-freed-j.php them from restarting new newspapers.
September 16, 2011 5:04 PM ET
Background
Ethiopia’s antiterrorism law, which criminalizes any reporting deemed to "encourage" or "provide moral support" to groups and causes which the government considers to be "terrorist", has been widely criticised as being vaguely worded and catch-all. It carries sentences of up to 20 years in prison.
Useful links
·Urgent Action appeal by Amnesty International (19 September 2010): English http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR25/008/2011/en; French http://www.amnesty.org/fr/library/asset/AFR25/008/2011/en/a0f2dc5d-2727-4316-b605-77272efcf452/afr250082011en.html
Please send appeals:
* Protesting the arrest of journalistsSileshi Hagos and Eskinder Negaon 9 and 14 September 2011 respectively and their detention under antiterrorist legislation;
* Calling on the Ethiopian authorities to ensure that the journalists are not subjected to torture or other ill-treatment;
* Urging the authorities to grant them access to lawyers and their families;
* Expressing concern that the journalists have been arrested and detained purely in relation to their peaceful journalistic activity, in violation of the right to freedom of expression protected under international human rights treaties to which Ethiopia is a party, including the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights;
* Urging the authorities to release Hagos and Nega unless there is a credible basis for charging them promptly and trying them in accordance with international standards for a fair trial.
Appeals to:
Prime Minister
Meles Zenawi
P.O. Box1031
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Fax: +251 155 20 30
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister
Minister of Justice
Berhanu Hailu
P.O. Box1370
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Fax: +251 11 551 7775/ 7755
Email:justice@telecom.net.et,ministry-justice@telecom.net.et
Salutation: Dear Minister
Federal Police Commissionner
Gebeyehu Workineh
P.O. Box5718
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Fax: +251 551 12 13
Please also send a copy of your letter to your nearest Ethiopian
diplomatic representative (the contact details for some Ethiopian
embassies are listed here: http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/Ethiopia/Ethiopia1.html).
***Please send appeals immediately. Check with International PEN if sending appeals after 31 October 2011.***
For further details please contact Tamsin Mitchell at the Writers in Prison Committee London Office: PEN International, Brownlow House, 50-51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER Tel: +44 (0) 207 405 0338 Fax +44 (0) 207405 0339 email:tamsin.mitchell@pen-international.org
