Ethiopian journalist jailed for response to interview

03 Feb 10 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized

Veteran Ethiopian journalist Ezedin Mohamed, editor of Islamic paper Al Quds, was sentenced to one year in jail on the 30 January. According to CPJ, the sentence relates to Mohamed’s response to a 2008 Guardian interview with Meles Zenawi; Mohamad criticised the Prime Minister’s characterisation of the country as Orthodox Christian. Ezedin Mohamed and Al-Quds Publisher Maria Kadim were previously jailed for two weeks in 2008, alongside Ibrahim Mohamed Ali, editor of another Islamic weekly Selafiyya for reporting on a government proposal to restrict the use of headscarves for Muslim girls in public schools.

Ethiopia’s record on press freedom remains poor, Ali and Asrat Wedajo, editor of the country’s largest Oromo language paper Seife Nebelbal before it was shut down in 2005, were subsequently sentenced to one year in prison in September 2009 for ‘coverage of sensitive topics’ (CPJ). . Two Eritrean journalists, Saleh Idris Gama and Tesfalidet Kidane Tesfazghi, have also been detained without charge since they were captured in Somalia ‘on suspicion of terrorism’; the Ethiopian government has repeatedly declined to provide any information about the location, health or legal status of the two men.

Ethiopian singer freed

21 Aug 09 | Index Index, minipost

Ethiopia’s popular singer, Teddy Afro, was freed from prison last Thursday after serving 18 months of a two-year sentence because of good behaviour. Teddy, whose real name is Tewodros Kassahun, was found guilty of the killing of a homeless man in a hit-and-run incident in 2007 but denied driving the car. Opposition parties and supporters say Teddy had been jailed for his criticism to the government in some of his songs and hundreds protested outside the court during his trial. Read more here

Ethiopia pressures Kenyan broadcaster

11 Aug 09 | Index Index, minipost

The Ethiopian government has tried to force private Kenyan broadcaster Nation Television (NTV) to drop a four-part exclusive report on separatist rebels in southern Ethiopia. NTV aired the first two parts of the programme which led Ethiopia’s ambassador to Kenya to accuse the Nation Media Group of giving a platform to a terrorist organization. Read more here