Ethiopian police arrest four newspaper editors – media group
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, June 29, 2005 (AP) — Ethiopian police arrested four independent newspaper editors on criminal charges of defaming the military, a media watchdog group said Wednesday.
They were detained for seven hours Tuesday and later released on bail. The arrests stem from reports in their Amharic-language weeklies about Ethiopian air force pilots who allegedly defected while training in Belarus, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.
“We are deeply concerned by signs of a crackdown on independent media in Ethiopia,” said Ann Cooper, executive director of the international media rights watchdog.
The government declined to comment on the arrests.
“The matter now lies with the ministry of defense and the federal police,” government spokesman Zemedkun Teckle said Wednesday.
Reports about defection of eight pilots were first published last week, days after disputed elections sparked deadly clashes where security forces shot and killed at least 36 protesters.
During three days of protests that started June 6 against alleged electoral fraud in last month’s parliamentary elections, police also arrested thousands of demonstrators. Police later killed a newly elected opposition leader in southern Ethiopia. Six policemen were arrested in connection with the politician’s death.
Teckle said some 400 detainees were released Tuesday. This raises the announced number of those freed since the clashes to more than around 3,765 people.
The arrests were the latest attempt by Ethiopian authorities to stifle information in the wake of a violent postelection upheaval, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The defense ministry ordered the arrest of Befekadu Moreda, editor-in-chief of Tomar; Zelalem Gebre, editor-in-chief of Menilik; Dawit Fassil, editor-in-chief of Asqual; and Tamrat Serbesa, editor-in-chief of Satenaw, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Earlier this month, officials briefly detained and questioned at least six editors from the Amharic-language press, including Zelalem Gebre of Menilik.
On June 7, the Information Ministry revoked the accreditation of five Ethiopian journalists working for Voice of America and Deutsche Welle radio stations.
Their permits haven’t been restored, and several of the journalists have reported further harassment by Ethiopian authorities, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.
Fikre Gudu, a prominent newspaper distributor in the capital, Addis Ababa, remains in detention without charge since authorities arrested him June 8. Local sources believe his arrest might be linked to attempts by Ethiopian authorities to limit newspaper distribution in the capital, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
“We call on Ethiopian authorities to stop harassing journalists, to release Fikre Gudu, and to restore accreditation to all local correspondents of Voice of America and Deutsche Welle so they can return to their important work of reporting the news,” Cooper said.