(BBC Text of report in English by Ethiopian opposition Ethiomedia website on 6 September 2006)
Ethiopian state agents reportedly attack exiled journalist in Kenya
NAIROBI, Kenya – An Ethiopian journalist living in exile in Kenya was admitted to hospital Monday [4 September] night after he was attacked by a gang of six men.
Yidnekachew Chane, who was a reporter for the now-banned Maebel, an Amharic weekly based in Addis Ababa, was severely beaten by two undercover agents of the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. The spies were assisted by four Kenyan accomplices as well.
Friends of the victim said they have filed a lawsuit against the two attackers whom they identified as ‘spies’ of the government in Addis Ababa.
Ethiopian journalists from the independent press have either ended up in jail or in exile following a nationwide crackdown on dissent that erupted after the ruling party rigged national elections in May 2005.
The government uses various methods, including killings, to intimidate reporters into submission. On 1 October 2003, Tesfamariam Araya, a reporter for the now-banned Amharic weekly Etiop was left for dead after assailants inflicted severe injuries to his skull, hands and legs.
The government also has a long record for smuggling securitymen into other countries – mainly neighbouring Kenya and Sudan – to carry out attacks on members of the opposition and the press.
In November 2005, eight security agents savagely attacked Ahmed Ali, a disabled Ethiopian journalist living in Stockholm, Sweden, for being critical of the [Meles] Zenawi regime.
Press freedom groups such as the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders often report widespread rights violations of Ethiopian journalists.
