The sentence stems from a 26 July article in which a lawyer was quoted
anonymously criticising the Supreme Court for turning down an appeal by
the
opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy for the court to order the
postponement of the proclamation of partial results in the 15 May
parliamentary elections on the grounds of possible fraud.

Serbesa, who was initially arrested on 7 July and released a day later
after
posting bail, refused to reveal the name of the lawyer to the Supreme
Court
and so was held in contempt of court and duly sentenced.

Another editor, Andualem Ayle of Ethiop newspaper, received a fine of
2,000
birr (c. US$225) for contempt of court in the same case.

International PEN considers the jailing of Tamrat Serbesa to be wholly
unwarranted and part of a pattern of government oppression of the media
in
Ethiopia evinced by the recent spate of arrests of nine newspaper
editors
whose only crime seems to have been the publishing of material critical
of
the Ethiopian authorities. PEN calls for the immediate release of
Tamrat
Serbesa. PEN also appeals to the Ethiopian authorities to put an end to
the
systematic victimisation of newspaper journalists and to allow freedom
of
expression to take root in the country.

Please send appeals:

– Calling for the immediate unconditional release of Tamrat Serbesa;

– Appealing for a halt to the use of the jjudicial system by the
Ethiopian
authorities to harass newspaper journalists.

Appeals to:

H.E. Ato Meles Zenawi
Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Office of
the
Prime Minister

P.O. Box 1031
Addis Ababa Ethiopia
E-mail: [email protected]

For further information, please contact Dixe Wills at International PEN
WiPC, 9/10 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1M 7AT, U.K.
Tel:
+44 (0)207 253 3226; Fax: +44 (0)207 253 5711;

email:
[email protected]

(
**The information contained in this autolist item is the sole
responsibility
of WiPC**)