Amnesty
International condemns threats made by the Ethiopian authorities
against Eskinder Nega, a journalist and former Amnesty International
Prisoner of Conscience. Eskinder has been issued a warning to cease
writing articles that the government considers to be inflammatory, or
face imprisonment. Amnesty International is seriously concerned that
Eskinder Nega is at risk of detention or of physical harm.
Eskinder
was detained by heavily armed Federal Police officers on 11th
February after leaving an internet cafe in central Addis Ababa. He
was taken to the head office of the Federal police, where the Deputy
Commissioner told Eskinder that he had been summoned for attempting
to incite protests similar to those in Egypt or Tunisia.
The
Deputy Commissioner particularly referred to an article Eskinder had
posted on a website a week previously, which praised a statement made
by the Egyptian army during the recent protests in Egypt that the
armed forces would not resort to use of force against its people. The
article urged that if protests did break out in Ethiopia, the army
should acknowledge Ethiopians’ right to peacefully demonstrate, and
should protect them. The article concluded with the final appeal to
the Ethiopian generals, “Don’t fight your conscience.”
The
Deputy Commissioner stated that this article was attempting to
undermine the army, and warned Eskinder that if any protests took
place they would hold him responsible. Eskinder was further warned
that the federal police had enough to convict him, and that he had
“already crossed the boundary.”
Information
about recent events in Egypt and Tunisia has been tightly controlled
in Ethiopia. Last time large scale public demonstrations took place
in Ethiopia – following post-election protests in 2005 – security
forces killed almost 200 demonstrators, and injured hundreds of
others.
Eskinder
has recently experienced a number of incidents which have led him to
believe he is risk of physical harm. He also reports that he is under
constant surveillance.
The
use of threats of prosecution as leverage to ‘negotiate’ silence
of journalists stifles dissent and violates freedom of expression.
The right to freedom of expression is guaranteed under the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and People’s
Rights, both of which Ethiopia is a state party to. The Ethiopian
Constitution also guarantees freedom of the press and the mass media
and prohibits censorship in any form. Article 29(4) of the
Constitution states “The press shall be granted institutional
independence and legal protection to enable it to accommodate
different opinions and ensure the free flow of information, ideas and
opinions that are necessary in a democratic society.”
Furthermore
in 2010 Ethiopia agreed to the recommendation from the UN Human
Rights Council’s periodic review that it would “adopt all
necessary measures to provide for free and independent media which
reflect a plurality of opinions.”
Eskinder
Nega was threatened for exercising his right to freedom of
expression. He has long been targeted for exercising this right in
criticising abuses of civil and political rights in the country in
his journalistic activities. Eskinder and countless other journalists
have been imprisoned since the ruling party came to power nearly 20
years ago. The majority of the independent press was closed in a
crackdown triggered by months of public protests in the wake of the
2005 parliamentary election results. Many journalists and owners of
publishing houses, including Eskinder and his wife Serkalem Fasil,
were imprisoned and convicted on charges relating to treason, but
released by a Presidential pardon. Eskinder has been denied a licence
to practice journalism since that time.
The
free press has barely functioned in Ethiopia since those events. Most
media in the country is state controlled. Many of those journalists
who have been allowed to work since 2005 self-censor their output.
Numerous journalists and editors have fled the country in recent
years under the threat of prosecution and imprisonment.
The
right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds
– as provided for in the ICCPR – is essential to the building and
maintenance of a society that respects human rights. The Ethiopian
government’s rhetoric on its commitment to upholding human rights
needs to now be reflected in the way it treats civil society in the
country – including those who make legitimate criticism of the
government.
The
authorities must stop using criminal proceedings or the threat of
such, to silence their critics, and end other forms of harassment of
journalists and members of civil society including human rights
activists. Instead, the Ethiopian government should fulfil its
international and domestic obligations by taking all necessary steps
to ensure that journalists and human rights defenders can operate
freely, independently and with the full protection of the state.
