Reporters Without Borders hails the release of three newspaper journalists - Addis Zena editor Wosonseged Gebrekidan, Hadar editor Dawit Kebede and Goshu Moges of Lisane Hezeb - who were set free along with some 30 other opposition members on 18 August under a pardon issued by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
“We can only welcome the release of these journalists, who had been imprisoned for about a year and a half,” the press freedom organisation said. “However, it is regrettable that they were set free because this was the prime minister’s wish and not because it had been the outcome of a fair trial. The journalists had to write a letter admitting their guilt.”
Wosonseged and Dawit, who had been in prison since November 2005, were convicted on 30 July of “conspiring to incite disruption of constitutional rule” and were sentenced to four years in prison. Goshu, who was arrested in February 2006, was sentenced on 27 July to 10 years in prison for belonging to an “illegal political organisation.”
Eight other journalists are still held in Ethiopia including Solomon Aregawi of Hadar.
