Category : Ethiopia

Ruth Smeeth: “From Ethiopia to Hong Kong, we will not abandon you”

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Scholars at Risk: Zelalem Kibret forced to choose between silence and speaking his mind

 alt informationEthiopian blogger and academic Zelalem Kibret was raised in a country where living in silence or speaking your mind was often a choice between life and death.

#Index100: Unveiling this year’s 100 global free speech heroes

 alt informationA graffiti artist who paints murals in war-torn Yemen, a jailed Bahraini academic and the Ethiopia’s Zone 9 bloggers are among those listed among this year’s #Index100 global free expression heroes.

Ethiopia: Young bloggers jailed for over two months without charge

 alt informationSix members of blogging group Zone 9 and three other journalists could could face terrorism charges in one of the world's deadliest countries for journalists

Five activists punished by their governments for speaking out

 Activists are continually harassed and punished for standing up and speaking out about social and political issues they feel are unjust in their country. Here are five activists whose government didn’t quite like what they had to say.   Raif Badawi- Saudi blogger punished after calling for ‘day of liberalism’ It would seem absurd to […]

London libel ruling against Ethiopian dissident shows urgent need for reform

 Peter Noorlander: London libel ruling against Ethiopian dissident shows urgent need for reform

Ethiopia pardons jailed Swedish journalists

 Ethiopia has pardoned two Swedish journalists charged with supporting terrorism and will release them soon, a government source said on Monday. Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye were sentenced to 11 years in prison in October 2011, after illegally entering the country with ethnic  rebel group, the Ogaden National Liberation Front. The chairman of the Swedish […]

Ethiopia: Eskinder Nega sentenced to 18 years in prison

 Prominent Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega was today sentenced to 18 years in prison for violating anti-terrorism laws. He and 23 other activists and writers were convicted last month, and accused of links with US-based opposition group Ginbot Seven, which Ethiopia considers a terrorist organisation. Last September Eskinder was arrested after publishing an article questioning arrests made under Ethiopia’s […]

Freedom of expression under attack in Ethiopia

 The Ethiopian government bolstered its image as a global leader in stifling internal dissent last week with the convictions of 24 prominent critics on conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism charges. Eskinder Nega, an influential journalist repeatedly detained over past years for challenging regime policy, is among those awaiting sentence, along with five other journalists […]

Ethiopia: 24 activists and writers convicted of terrorism

 24 activists and writers, including well-known dissident and blogger Eskinder Nega, were convicted for terrorism by an Ethiopian court yesterday (27 June). The presiding judge reportedly accused Nega of attempting to spark popular protests with his blogging and speeches. Nega criticised the country’s tendency to use its vague anti-terrorism laws to silence dissent.    

Ethiopia: Police detain VOA reporter, interpreter

 Ethiopian Police have detained two journalists who were working for US funded broadcaster Voice of America (VOA). Peter Heinlein, a VOA correspondent, was arrested along with freelance reporter Simegnish Yekoye and an interpreter. The trio were detained whilst covering a demonstration of Muslims protesting against government interference in religious affairs. They are currently being held in a federal detention […]

Ethiopia: Leading weekly’s website blocked

 Access to the website of Ethiopia’s leading weekly newspaper has been blocked within the country. The website of privately-owned weekly, The Reporter, has been inaccessible since 21 April, other than through a proxy server. Though the reason for the blocking is unclear, it has been speculated that the block is being carried out by the state-owned company Ethio-Telecom, […]