ethiopia: CPJ disturbed by continuing imprisonment of journalists

IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
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ACTION ALERT UPDATE - ETHIOPIA

23 May 2003

CPJ disturbed by continuing imprisonment of journalists

SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York

**Updates IFEX alert on the Shine case of 7 May 2003; updates alerts on the
Kassa case of 7 March 2003, 11 July 2002 and 27 February 2001; updates alert
on the Gebrekidan case of 16 May 2003**

(CPJ/IFEX) - In a 22 May 2003 letter to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, CPJ
stated that it is deeply disturbed by the recent jailing of Melese Shine,
editor-in-chief of the Amharic-language weekly "Ethiop". Another journalist,
Tewodros Kassa, the former editor-in-chief of "Ethiop", has been imprisoned
since May 2002.

Shine was charged with defamation under Ethiopia's Press Proclamation No.
34/1992 after a letter to the editor published in "Ethiop" in November 2001
alleged that Melkamu Gettu, the administrator of the state-owned Ras Desta
Hospital in the capital, Addis Ababa, had embezzled hospital funds.

In a 29 April court hearing, the public prosecutor requested that Shine be
denied bail because the journalist had violated the Press Law several times.
The court refused to rule on Shine's bail request that day and ordered him
to remain in custody until a verdict on his bail is rendered-a decision that
local sources say is highly unusual. Journalists in Addis Ababa expressed
shock that a press offence could result in the denial of bail, a ruling
usually reserved for the most serious crimes. Shine has been jailed in the
Addis Ababa Prison Center since 29 April. His next bail hearing is scheduled
for 27 May.

Meanwhile, Kassa has been languishing in prison since May 2002. He was
convicted on 7 July 2002, on two counts of violating the Press Proclamation.
The first charge, "disseminating false information that could incite people
to political violence," stemmed from two stories: One reported that the
ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) had
installed party supporters in positions at an air force base; the other
reported on a failed bomb plot in Addis Ababa. The second charge,
defamation, resulted from an article alleging connections between a private
investment company and the EPRDF government. Kassa was sentenced to two
years' imprisonment.

In addition, another "Ethiop" journalist was briefly jailed last week.
Deputy editor-in-chief Wosonseged Gebrekidan was charged with defamation
after a May 2002 letter to the editor in "Ethiop" criticized Habtemariam
Seyoum, a former Ethiopian ambassador to France. Gebrekidan appeared before
an Addis Ababa court on 14 May 2003 and was jailed because he was unable to
pay 2,000 birr (US$240) bail. He was released on 16 May after fellow
journalists secured his bail.

CPJ believes that the prosecution and imprisonment of these journalists is
designed to silence critical reporting on matters of legitimate public
concern. Journalists should never be imprisoned for fulfilling their
professional duties.

According to CPJ, the continuing criminal prosecution of journalists in
Ethiopia is especially disconcerting at a time when the government is in the
process of drafting a new press law. Early drafts of the law show no signs
of greater conformity to international press freedom standards and instead
maintain harsh criminal penalties for press offenses and allow the
government broad powers of censorship (see IFEX alerts of 17, 14 and 10
February and 21 January 2003).

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Send appeals to the prime minister:
- calling on him to do everything in his power to see that Shine and Kassa
are immediately released from prison, and that the criminal cases against
them are dropped
- urging him to work toward decriminalizing all press offenses and to allow
Ethiopian journalists to practice their profession freely, without fear of
state censorship or reprisals

APPEALS TO:

His Excellency Prime Minister Meles Zenawi
Office of the Prime Minister
P.O. Box 1031
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Fax: +251 155 2020

Please copy appeals to the source if possible.

For further information, contact Adam Posluns (ext. 107) at CPJ, 330 Seventh
Ave., New York, NY 10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465
9568, e-mail: [email protected], [email protected], Internet:
http://www.cpj.org/

The information contained in this action alert update is the sole
responsibility of CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication,
please credit CPJ.
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