Ethiopian court hands Swedish journalists 11-year prison terms

New
York, December 27, 2011 — In a highly politicized trial, two Swedish
journalists have been sentenced in an Ethiopian court to 11-year jail
terms after being convicted of supporting terrorism and entering the
country illegally, according to news reports.

Judge Shemsu Sirgaga
ruled today that Swedish journalists Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye should
serve “rigorous imprisonment,” and said the verdict
“should satisfy the goal of peace and security,” Agence France-Presse reported. Last week, the journalists were convicted of illegally entering the eastern
Somali-speaking Ogaden region, where government
forces are battling separatists with the Ogaden
National Liberation Front, according to news reports. The Ethiopian
government classified the ONLF as a terrorist organization early
this year and has restricted journalists from independently accessing the
region.

Prosecutors had asked the judge for a jail term of 18 and a half years
for Persson and Schibbye,
who were tried under the country’s far-reaching anti-terrorism law, news
reports said. Human rights groups have said the law, which
has been criticizedby human rights monitors in the United Nations, is
being used by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to crack down on dissent.

CPJ research found that fundamental principles of due process were
violated during the journalists’ trial, including the presumption of
innocence, which is enshrined in Article 14 of the InternationalCovenant

 on Civil and Political
Rights, to which Ethiopia is a signatory. In addition, numerous
accusatory public statements by state media and top government officials, including Zenawi, appeared to
predetermine the outcome of the trial.

“The harsh sentences against Johan Persson
and Martin Schibbye are an affront to justice
and press freedom,” said CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed
Keita. “With this politicized case, authorities showed they are
intent on quashing coverage of important eventsin the Ogaden region.
The Ethiopian government should unconditionally release Persson and Schibbye, and
allow independent access to the Ogaden
region.”

Ethiopian officials have denied using the trial as politically motivated
reprisal. “How can there be a political motive when prosecutors
provided evidence throughout the trial and the defendants themselves
admitted to entering the country illegally with rebels?” Justice
Ministry Spokesman Desalegn Deressa
told Reuters. Ethiopian government spokesman Bereket Simon accused international human rights
groups of being “interested only in regime change,” he told AFP. “We feel these people do not
understand the concept of rule of law,” Simon said.

The journalists’ defense lawyers have not yet said whether they will
appeal the sentences, news reports said.

In a statement today, European Union High Representative
Spokesperson Catherine Ashton expressed “serious concern” about
the judgment and the verdict, and said that “the sentencing on
terrorism-related charges raises concerns about the freedom of media and
expression in Ethiopia.”

With seven journalists behind bars, including Persson
and Schibbye, Ethiopia trails only Eritrea
among Africa’s worst jailers of journalists, according to CPJ research.
Ethiopia’s repression of the media has driven the world’s largest numberof journalists into exile over the last decade.