“No outside party was allowed to follow the proceedings, but we know that the court ruled that the journalists should remain in prison for fourteen more days until the police wind up investigation,” noted Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega said, adding “the ruling came as a surprise since it is quite plain that the police have no need for further investigation after impounding what they determined to be an incriminating evidence.”]
Police detain editor, impound magazine over pop icon story
Mahtemework and the others were picked up early Friday evening as they carried 10,000 copies of the current edition from the printer to their offices. The police impounded all the copies of the paper, allegedly after receiving a tip from an informant at the printer that the cover story could lead to “incitement,” according to local journalists. The story focused on the trial of jailed pop music icon and government critic Kassahun, better known as Teddy Afro, and included interviews with his lawyer and fans.
“The seizure of Enku and the arrests of its staffers is a continuation of the Ethiopian government’s ongoing efforts to stifle the private press from freely reporting on important public issues,” said CPJ’s executive director Joel Simon. “We call on the Ethiopian authorities to abandon these crude tactics of intimidation and release our colleagues immediately. We also condemn this flagrant act of censorship and ask that the authorities return the confiscated copies of the magazine.”
Speaking to CPJ via telephone today, Ethiopian Information Ministry spokesman Zemedkun Tekle claimed no knowledge of the matter, but declared that the police had the right to intervene if there are “problems” with any content. He referred inquiries to the police. CPJ’s calls to Ethiopian federal police were not immediately returned.
Kassahun was arrested and charged last month in connection with a hit-and-run incident in 2006, according to news reports. Kassahun’s popular song, “Jah Yasteseryal,” became a popular anthem of anti-government protesters during unrest following the disputed 2005 parliamentary elections, according to local sources.
Despite releasing 15 Ethiopian journalists who were jailed on trumped-up anti-state charges last year in connection with a brutal 2005 media crackdown, Ethiopian authorities have not relented in their long-standing pattern of repression of independent media through intimidation, arrests, criminal prosecutions, and legal and administrative restraints, CPJ research has found.
In February, police detained three journalists from Islamic newspapers for two weeks and confiscated equipment and filed criminal defamation charges in connection with a public petition critical of the education minister. Meanwhile, three independent journalists acquitted and set free last year have been blocked from launching new newspapers, and two Eritrean journalists, arrested in 2006, continue to be held incommunicado in Ethiopia.
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CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit www.cpj.org.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns editor’s arrest
Reporters Without Borders condemns the arrest of Alemayehu Mahtemework, the publisher and deputy editor of the entertainment monthly Enku, on the night of 2 May in Addis Ababa, and the seizure of 10,000 copies of its latest issue.
The press freedom organisation also condemns the arrest of three people with no connection to the magazine who happened to be in the vehicle carrying the copies that were about to be distributed.
“The Ethiopian authorities have sent a very negative signal by choosing the eve of 3 May, World Press Freedom Day, to arrest a journalist and seize an issue of an independent magazine,” Reporters Without Borders said.
“Although aware of the climate of self-censorship prevailing in Addis Ababa, we chose to send the government a positive signal by withdrawing Prime Minister Meles Zenawi from our list of press freedom predators, in order to salute the efforts it has made in the past year,” the organisation added. “But if this case is not resolved quickly and this kind of incident recurs, we will have to review our decision.”
The cover story of the issue that was seized by the police was about the controversial arrest of Tewodros Kasahun, a very popular singer who supports the opposition.
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Press Freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) can be accessed at www.rsf.org.
