Attacks on the Press - Committee to Protect Journalists

attacks on the press in 2009africa: gambiainvolvement with private media group Addis Broadcasting Company in 2005, accordingto news reports and local journalists. Amaha was acquitted in July.The arrests of journalists occurred in the context of waves of arrests of oppositionparty members, including outspoken opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa,who was jailed in December 2008 to serve a life sentence for contradicting governmentassertions about pardons given to political prisoners in 2005, accordingto news reports. Mideksa, who was one of the detainees, said the government hadcoerced statements of culpability from the prisoners.Opposition political groups said hundreds of members were arrested in 2009,according to news reports, but government spokesman Simon denied the arrestswere politically motivated. “Nobody has been imprisoned or killed for politicalactivity, to my knowledge,” he told Reuters in November.In a June interview with the Financial Times, Zenawi denied that the arrestsof political dissidents and enactment of harsh legislation “contributed to an atmospherewhere people do not feel free to speak.” He declared: “Have you read thelocal newspapers? Do they mince their words about the government?”In reality, journalists with the handful of Amharic-language newspapers thatcovered current affairs worked under intense scrutiny of officials, governmentsupporters, and the government-controlled media, according to CPJ research.Foreign journalists based in Addis Ababa, who worked under the constant threatof expulsion, were also affected by the government’s heavy hand. “When watchedclosely, you do tend to become very artful at balancing your pieces,” an internationalreporter told CPJ on the condition of anonymity.Pointed coverage of sensitive topics routinely triggered accusations in thestate media, threats, and government interrogations, according to local journalists.In November, for instance, the state daily Addis Zemen published columnsaccusing Addis Neger and Awramba Times of supporting banned political organizationsand undermining national interests. Addis Neger, the leading independentpolitical publication with a circulation of 30,000, announced in December itwould halt publication “following legal and political harassment and intimidationby the Ethiopian government.” Five of its editors fled the country, citing fears ofprosecution, according to news reports. At least 41 Ethiopian journalists havefled into exile this decade, according to CPJ research, although local groups saythe number could be much higher.The EPRDF further tightened its grip on the national public media andmedia regulatory agencies. In January, the government appointed administrationspokesman Simon as board chairman of the national public broadcaster EthiopianRadio and Television Agency, according to news reports. Simon’s deputy,Shimelis Kemal, formerly the chief government prosecutor who charged 15 journalistswith antistate crimes in 2005, was in charge of the Ethiopian BroadcastingAuthority, overseeing the issuing of print media licenses.The Broadcasting Authority, which is accountable to the prime minister, effectivelybecame the government’s censorship arm as it issued restrictions againstindependent media. It immediately barred any media executive with more than2 percent ownership share from assuming any editorial position, according tolocal news reports. In April, it denied licenses to three journalists imprisonedin 2005—award-winning publisher Serkalem Fasil; her husband, columnist EskinderNega; and publisher Sisay Agena—because of convictions against theirnow-dissolved publishing companies, according to local journalists. The samemonth, the authority briefly revoked the accreditations of VOA correspondentsEskinder Firew and Meleskachew Amaha, who had been jailed in May. Finally, inJune, it ordered private Sheger Radio to stop carrying programs from VOA.Authorities also continued to restrict Web sites discussing political dissentand other sensitive issues on the government-run national Internet service provider,the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation. In October, OpenNetInitiative—a research project on Internet censorship—released the findings of astudy that named Ethiopia as the only country in sub-Saharan Africa with “consistent”and “substantial” filtering of Web sites, including CPJ’s site and two majorblogging platforms, Blogger and Nazret.GAMBIAAuthorities jailed six journalists after their publicationssaid President Yahya Jammeh had been insensitive in televised remarks aboutthe unsolved 2004 murder of prominent Gambian editor Deyda Hydara. Thesix, convicted in August on baseless charges of sedition, were sentenced to twoyears in prison but were freedt o p developments»»Hydara murder unsolved; secrecysurrounds Manneh detention.»»Domestic, international pressureprompts Jammeh to halt crackdown.6key statisticJournalists jailed for sedition aftersaying president’s remarks onHydara case were insensitive.in September after Jammeh,facing considerable domesticand international pressure, issuedpardons.The detainees includedsome of the nation’s leadingjournalists. Four were fromHydara’s paper, the privatedaily The Point: ManagingEditor Pap Saine, News EditorEbrima Sawaneh, andreporters Sarata Jabbi-Dibba2 6 2 7