Ethiopia

In 2006, Ethiopia (18 journalists)) trailed only neighbouring Eritrea (23 journalists) as the leading jailer of journalists in Africa . The government uses the threat of jail and the laying of charges that carry the death penalty against journalists to curtail free expression and threaten the safety of journalists. Strict press laws impose criminal sanctions for defamation and the publication of news that authorities deem “false.” Editors routinely have multiple press law charges pending against them.

After the controversial May 2005 elections which saw public protests over the election results, the government embarked on a months-long crackdown on journalists. Journalists were viewed as enemies of the state by the ruling coalition, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, who believed that the media had been part of an attempt to topple the government. Retaliation came swiftly, as police and security forces were given the green-light to harass and jail journalists with impunity.

Ethiopian court dismisses charges of treason against journalists
At least 17 journalists were imprisoned, and charged with offences including "outrages against the constitution or constitutional order," "impairment of the defensive power of the state," and "attempted genocide." Free expression organisations were concerned about lack of access to family and lawyers and prison conditions. One journalist Serkalem Fassil, was forced to give birth to her child in prison.

About a dozen exiled Ethiopian journalists were charged in absentia with treason, including Kifle Mulat, the exiled president of the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists Association.

The government also raided newsrooms, blocked newspapers from publishing, and expelled two foreign reporters, including a long-serving Associated Press correspondent. One telling statistic about the impact of the crackdown: Before the elections there were 20 independent newspapers, afterwards there were only 10.

On April 12, 2007, the Ethiopian High Court acquitted and set free eight of the journalists detained since the government crackdown. At least nine other journalists are still imprisoned on similar charges, according to CPJ.

Increasing self-censorship to avoid jail
The arrests led to increasing self-censorship as journalists tried to avoid running afoul of the government and joining their colleagues in prison.

"We're not against this government,” Fassil Yenealem, the jailed publisher of Addis Zena, told CPJ. “It is through this government that we began to write. But when the government sees people starting to demand more democracy, freedom of expression, and development, they think it's the fault of the press.”

To find out more about the lives of Ethiopian journalists living in exile, read a report: Ethiopian journalists in Exile.

By David Sharpe

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