Ethiopia: Jailed US reporter released, not to be deported
By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
May 26, 2012(ADDIS ABABA) – An Ethiopian government official said on Saturday that the correspondent for the US government funded broadcaster, Voice of America (VOA), has been freed today, one day after been held by police in Addis Ababa for allegedly acting “unprofessionally and illegally” in the view of a government spokesperson, according to a press watchdog.
Peter Heinlein was arrested along with his translator, Simegineh Yekoye, while he was attempting to interview Muslim protesters during a demonstration, following Friday prayers in the capital Addis Ababa.
“Peter Heinlein is out of jail and no charges has been pressed against him,” government spokesperson, Shimels Kemal told Sudan Tribune.
Kemal said Heinlein, who is married to a Danish diplomat, was taken into custody yesterday after he allegedly refused to show police his press accreditation and improperly used a Swedish diplomatic car as cover.
“He was pulling two cards at a time,” Kemal told Sudan Tribune adding, “he just got himself into trouble.”
It is not clear why the VOA reporter allegedly refused to cooperate with the police.
Foreign journalists risk deportation if they fail to abide by Ethiopian law. However, Kemal confirmed that the US reporter will be permitted to stay in the country.
Following his arrest, VOA officials urged Ethiopian authorities to immediately free the journalist and create an atmosphere in which reporters are free to carry out their journalistic duty without interference.
International press freedom groups often accuse Ethiopia of restricting press freedom and intensifying the crackdown on journalists in the past few years; an allegation Addis Ababa denies.
Reporters Without Borders in 2012 ranked Ethiopia 127 out of 179 in terms of press freedom, with neighbouring Eritrea at the bottom of the list.
“Peter Heinlein is a veteran reporter, an experienced and professional broadcaster, so personally I find it rather hard to believe that someone like Heinlein would be reporting unprofessionally” said East Africa Consultant to the press watchdog Campaign to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Tom Rhodes.
Recently the East Africa country’s capital, Addis Ababa, has seen increasing tension between the government and the Muslim minority.
In the past few weeks, Muslim followers has been staging demonstrations in protest to what they allege is the government’s interference in their religious affairs.
According to some reports, the Ethiopian government fear hardline Islamist influence in the dominantly Christian nation.
Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous nation. Approximately 30 percent of its 81 million citizens are Muslim.
(ST)