Terrorists? A look at two jailed Ethiopian journalists

At the end of
June, Ethiopia’s Anti-Terror Task Force arrested nine people on charges of
attempting to “destroy electrical and telecommunication
infrastructures” with support from Ethiopia’s arch-enemy, Eritrea. Held
under Ethiopia’s far-reaching antiterrorism
law, only four of the suspects’ names have so far been revealed and two of
them happen to be journalists.

Dawit
Kebede, managing editor of the independent weekly
Awramba Times and a 2010 CPJ
International Press Freedom Award winner, said he was stunned by the news.
His longtime university friend and colleague, Awramba
Times Deputy Editor Woubshet Taye is one of the
suspects. “I have never been so surprised in my life and the same applies
to the rest of our staff,” Kebede told me. He
called Woubshet “a stickler for the rule of law.
I cannot think of a less likely terrorist.”

Temesgen Desalegn,
editor of another independent weekly, Feteh
(meaning “Justice”), was also shocked to discover his columnist, Reeyot Alemu, was arrested
for terrorism. “Yes Reeyot was a critical writer
but a terrorist? You could never read anything in her articles that would
convey any antistate tendencies,” Desalegn told me.

Kebede has known his friend and colleague Woubshet Taye for 11 years since
their days studying journalism together at Unity University in the capital,
Addis Ababa. Kebede and Taye
started working together in 2004, as Taye became a
senior reporter for the now-defunct private weekly, Hadar.
Taye, like Kebede, has had
his share of run-ins with Ethiopian authorities. Both were arrested during the government
crackdown on the independent press following the disputed 2005 elections.
An avid reader, Taye donated 200 books to Awramba Times when the publication was
launched in 2008. But he almost resigned fromAwramba
Times during the May 2010 elections after the director of the state
broadcasting authority accused
him of inciting and misguiding the public. Taye
and Kebede had written a piece a week earlier that
raised questions about the lack of public enthusiasm for the May 2010
elections, which the ruling party swept.

Alemu, 28, has worked primarily as a high
school English teacher. For a short time, she served as editor of a private
weekly, Addis Press, before the paper dissolved several months
ago, said Desalegn, who recruited her to write a
political column for Feteh. Even while working
long hours as a journalist, he said, Alemu continued
to teach. Just before her arrest, she was planning to marry and start a family.
Her students and colleagues are in disbelief over the charges, Desalegn added.

Both Kebede and Desalegn fear the
government is bringing the terrorism
charges as a way to silence their publications. Knowing that a direct
closure of either publication would lead to both local and international
condemnation, “the arrest of Reeyot works as a
warning light for us to censor our reporting,” Desalegn
said.

Both
publications have faced intimidation from authorities and been targeted in
smear campaigns by pro-government and government-controlled state media. Since Feteh started in 2008, authorities have
questioned Desalegn twice and filed a staggering 41
lawsuits against him. Desalegn and Kebede have decided to continue publishing as best they can
under the circumstances.

Beyond vague
public accusations, the Ethiopian government has yet to present any evidence
against Taye and Alemu. The
journalists are expected to remain in jail for at least another month after a
magistrate this week granted prosecutors an extension of 28 days to pursue
“investigations,” according to local journalists.

—
Tom Rhodes is
CPJ’s East Africa consultant, based in
Nairobi. Rhodes is a founder of southern Sudan’s first independent newspaper.
Follow him on Twitter: @africamedia_CPJ