Ethiopia: Newspaper editor jailed

IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
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PRESS RELEASE/ALERT - ETHIOPIA

6 April 2004

Newspaper editor jailed

SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York

**For further information on the Kassa case, see IFEX alerts of 23 May and 7
March 2003, 11 July 2002 and 27 February 2001**

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a CPJ press release:

ETHIOPIA: Newspaper editor jailed

New York, April 6, 2004-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply
concerned about the recent jailing of an Ethiopian journalist, after he was
unable to pay bail in a criminal defamation case. On Friday, April 2,
Ethiopian authorities jailed Merid Estifanos, former editor-in-chief of the
private, Amharic-language weekly Satanaw.

According to local sources, Estifanos appeared before a federal court in the
capital, Addis Ababa, on April 2, in connection with a defamation charge
stemming from a September 2001 opinion piece titled "The Hidden Agenda of
Prime Minister Meles."

The article accused Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of supporting the
government of neighboring Eritrea and alleged that Eritrea had defeated
Ethiopia during the two-year border war between the two countries from 1998
to 2000. Despite various U.N.-sponsored peace efforts, the two countries
have yet to agree on a border, and severe tensions between them persist.

Estifanos did not write the article, but as editor-in-chief of the
newspaper, he was held responsible for its content. Following the article's
publication, Estifanos was charged with defaming the prime minister, and
ordered to pay bail of 1,000 birr (US$120) while awaiting trial. According
to local sources, he could face more prison time if convicted.

At the April 2 hearing, the court told Estifanos that since he had missed
his previous court hearing, the court had imposed an additional bail of
3,000 birr (US$360). When Estifanos was unable to pay this amount, the court
ordered that he be transferred to prison.

"We call on Ethiopian authorities to release Merid Estifanos immediately,
and to work toward removing criminal penalties for press offenses," said CPJ
Executive Director Ann Cooper.

One other journalist remains in prison in Ethiopia. Tewodros Kassa was
sentenced to two years' imprisonment in July 2002, on charges of defamation
and "disseminating false information that could incite people to political
violence."

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information about press
conditions in Ethiopia, visit www.cpj.org.

For further information, contact Africa Program Coordinator Julia Crawford
or Research Associate Adam Posluns at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY
10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004, x112, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail:
[email protected], Internet: http://www.cpj.org/

The information contained in this press release/alert is the sole
responsibility of CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication,
please credit CPJ.
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