Over 60 journalists in Ethiopian "hit list"

The crackdown on journalists by the Ethiopian government which saw a dozen of them being arrested in November has taken a turn for the worse with one of them being convicted already.

SHUTTERS WIDE SHUT: Ethiopians are seen in front of closed shops in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia November 5, 2005. Across Addis Ababa, many shopkeepers are still struggling to repair windows and doors damaged in a spate of looting during the clashes sparked by calls for protests. (Reuters/David Manyua)

The Federal High Court of Ethiopia Tuesday convicted Wosonseged Gebrekidan, former editor of the Amharic weekly Ethiop of defaming former diplomat Habtemariam Seyoum in a 2002 opinion piece, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). A CPJ source said that Gebrekidan's lawyer, who had not been apprised of the hearing, was not present in the court when the order was passed.

Gebrekidan, who since became editor of the Amharic weekly Addis Zena, did not write the opinion piece, CPJ sources said. He was sentenced under Ethiopia's 1992 Press Proclamation, which holds editors responsible for the content of their newspapers. Like many other Ethiopian editors, Gebrekidan has several criminal charges relating to his work pending against him. CPJ research indicates that such charges usually take years to come to court.

The Ethiop article criticised Seyoum for comments he made praising Ethiopia's diplomatic strategy toward neighboring Eritrea, including its promise to uphold peace accords that ended a bloody two-year border war between the two countries in 2000.

Gebrekidan is one 12 journalists jailed in Ethiopia since November 2, 2005, in a wide-reaching crackdown on the private press following anti-government protests. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has threatened to charge those detained, including journalists, opposition leaders, and members of civil society, with treason, which is punishable by death. The detained journalists have repeatedly been denied bail. The "hit list" of the government is said to have names of more than 60 journalists.

"We are outraged at the prison sentence given to Wosonseged Gebrekidan, and at the continued imprisonment of other journalists," said Ann Cooper, Executive Director of CPJ. "We call on Ethiopian authorities to release all of them and stop this crackdown on the media."

Among those who have been arrested are:

Andualem Ayle, Amharic weekly Ethiop
Nardos Meaza, Amharic weekly Satanaw
Zekarias Tesfaye, publisher of Amharic weekly Netsanet
Dereje Habtewolde, deputy editor of Netsanet
Fassil Yenealem, publisher of Amharic weekly Addis Zena
Wosonseged Gebrekidan, editor-in-chief of Addis Zena
Dawit Kebede, editor-in-chief of Hadar
Feleke Tibebu, deputy editor of "Hadar"
Serkalem Fassil, publisher of weeklies Menilik, Asqual and Satanaw
Iskinder Nega, husband of Fassil (also a journalist)
Sisay Agena, publisher of Amharic weekly Ethiop
Aboneshe Abera, sister of Agena
(Agena's wife, Helen Seyum, was arrested in early November but later released)

BELEAGURED OPPOSITION: Hailu Showel, right, one of the four main leaders of the Ethiopian Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), answers a question from a foreign correspondent as his three colleagues, from left to right, Prof Mesfin, Birtukan Midek, and Berhanu Nega listen to him, at the Crime Investigation Commission's headquarters, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sunday, November 27, 2005. Ethiopia's main opposition leaders, who have been held for 26 days in jail, said Sunday that they will go on hunger strike to protest their incarceration. (AP Photo/Boris Heger)

The crackdown on jurnalists began amid clashes between security forces and opposition supporters who accused Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of rigging polls in May that returned him to power. More than 40 people were killed in a week of violence, which began on November 1.

Ethiopian authorities have since prevented most private newspapers from publishing, jailed and harassed local journalists, and threatened to charge detainees, including journalists, with treason, which is a capital offense. Much of the private press is in hiding. Local sources told CPJ that authorities have stepped up their search for journalists still on a government wanted list.

The wanted list includes the publishers and editors of eight private, Amharic-language weekly newspapers, in addition to opposition leaders, the heads of the Ethiopian Teachers' Association, and local representatives of the international charity Action Aid, many of whom have already been arrested. It also included the president of the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists' Association (EFJA), Kifle Mulat. State media have disseminated photographs of many of these journalists, and have called on the public to tell police their whereabouts.

The "hit list" of the Ethiopian government includes the following: