Anti-terrorism legislation further restricts press

The law also provides for terrorist suspects to be held for
up to four months without charge. However, in nearly 27 months, the government
has yet to take to court Eritrean state television journalists Saleh Idris Gama
or Tesfalidet Kidane Tesfazghi since identifying them among 41 people “captured”
in Somalia on
suspicion of terrorism. The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry has consistently
declined to comment to CPJ’s requests
for information about these imprisonments.

Commenting
on the legislation prior to passage, government spokesman Bereket Simon
dismissed concerns of potential abuse. “This is a
government that is committed to the constitutional provisions, and in the
Constitution, any abuse of power is not allowed,” he told U.S.
international broadcaster Voice of America (VOA). Despite these assurances however, the
potential for abuse of this law is all the more troubling in light of the
government’s long-standing pattern of criminal prosecution of the independent
press over critical coverage, and the practices of Ethiopian judges and prosecutors in such cases. In principle, the
Anti-Terrorism Proclamation and the existing criminal code have high
requirements for government prosecutors to prove intent in charges against the press, according
to legal experts and CPJ analysis. In practice, however, Ethiopian judges have
leniently interpreted these requirements, giving them little or no
consideration.

CPJ continues to document cases where government prosecutors
charge journalists with the criminal code charge of “inciting the public
through false rumors” for reporting allegations contradicting or questioning
government’s positions or statements. Ethiopian judges have allowed such cases
to proceed without questioning the positions or statements of the state, as the
plaintiff in these cases, placing a disproportionate
burden of proof on the defendant journalists, according to Ethiopian legal
experts. We have also documented cases where judges have used “contempt of
court” charges to detain journalists and censor coverage of sensitive cases,
including the trial of pop singer Tewodros Kassahun.

Last year, in an interview with Newsweek, you expressed
hope that Ethiopia‘s
newly passed press reform legislation would be “on par with the best in the
world.” The law intended to “ensure media diversity and provide adequate legal
protection for the operational independence of media in general,” according to
a February 26 press release from the Office for Government Communication
Affairs. However, by all accounts, the Mass Media
and Freedom of Information Proclamation fell
well short of international standards. The law stiffened existing penalties
for libel and granted government prosecutors the exclusive discretion to
summarily block any publication for national security, but bans pretrial
detentions of journalists, at least in principle.

Four editors of Amharic-language weeklies have been detained
this year on criminal charges, according to CPJ research, for anywhere from
three to 16 days; two are still
facing charges. In addition, several other journalists are facing charges and
the possibility of criminal prosecutions, police interrogations, or government
warnings over coverage deemed favorable to political dissidents, according to
our research. The government is continuing its long-standing practice of
reviving criminal prosecutions of journalists on charges dating back several
years. Asrat Wedajo, former editor of the defunct Sefe Nebelbal
newspaper, appeared in March before federal court in a criminal case over a
story that appeared four years ago, according to local journalists.

The official February 26 press release stated the
administration’s commitment to “ensure the free flow of diverse ideas and
information.” However, in January, a government agency, the Ethiopian
Broadcasting Authority, was given exclusive authority over media regulation.
The authority immediately issued directives not included in the press law stripping
any media executive with more than 2 percent ownership share of any editorial
authority in order to “avoid homogeneity of news and viewpoints,” according to
local news reports. In April, the agency denied licenses to three journalists–award-winning
publisher Serkalem Fasil, her husband, columnist Eskinder Nega, and publisher Sisay Agena–because their now-banned publishing companies were convicted on anti-state charges in 2007. In June, it ordered
private Sheger Radio to stop carrying programs from VOA, after briefly revoking the accreditations of correspondents
Eskinder Firew and Meleskachew Amaha. Amaha
was imprisoned this year on spurious, years-old tax charges. He was later
acquitted.

In addition, your government continues to filter Web sites,
particularly foreign-based independent sites and blogs discussing political
reform and human rights, including our site .

We urge you to amend statutes in the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation and the Mass Media and
Freedom of Information Proclamation that undermine constitutional rights to
press freedom. We ask that you conduct an independent review of judicial practices
and the application of criminal statutes used to prosecute journalists, and
ensure the creation of an independent media regulatory body.

We call on you to lift all restrictions on the free exercise
of journalism in your country.

Sincerely,

Joel Simon
Executive Director