Ethiopia: Journalist jailed
According to reports, on 2 April a federal court in Addis Ababa jailed Mr Merid Estifanos, former editor-in-chief of the private, Amharic-language weekly Satanaw, after he was unable to pay bail in a criminal defamation case. The defamation charge stemmed from a September 2001 opinion piece entitled "The Hidden Agenda of Prime Minister Meles", which accused Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of supporting the government of Eritrea and alleging that Eritrea had defeated Ethiopia during the two-year border war ending in 2000.
IFEX Autolist (other news of interest)
From: World Association of Newspapers (WAN), [email protected]
The Right Honourable Meles Zenawi
Prime Minister of Ethiopia
C/o Permanent Representative to UN
Email: [email protected]
8 April 2004
Dear Prime Minister,
We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and the
World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications in 100 countries,
to express our serious concern at the jailing of journalist Merid Estifanos.
According to reports, on 2 April a federal court in Addis Ababa jailed Mr
Estifanos, former editor-in-chief of the private, Amharic-language weekly
Satanaw, after he was unable to pay bail in a criminal defamation case. The
defamation charge stemmed from a September 2001 opinion piece entitled "The
Hidden Agenda of Prime Minister Meles", which accused you of supporting the
government of Eritrea and alleging that Eritrea had defeated Ethiopia during
the two-year border war ending in 2000.
Following the article's publication, Mr Estifanos was charged with
defamation and ordered to pay bail of 1,000 birr (US$120) while awaiting
trial. Mr Estifanos could face more time in prison if he is convicted of the
offence.
At the 2 April hearing, the court reportedly imposed an additional bail of
3,000 birr on Mr Estifanos for failing to attend a previous bail hearing.
When Mr Estifanos was unable to pay this amount, the court ordered that he
be transferred to prison.
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".
We respectfully remind you that Mr Estifanos should not be jailed for
reasons relating to his exercising the right to freedom of expression, which
is guaranteed by numerous international conventions, including Article 19 of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Furthermore, the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights considers that "detention, as punishment for the
peaceful expression of an opinion, is one of the most reprehensible ways to
enjoin silence and, as a consequence, a grave violation of human rights".
We also remind you that bail demands should at all times be reasonable and
not used as a means of imprisoning someone who has not been convicted.
We respectfully call on you to do everything possible to ensure that Mr
Estifanos is immediately released from prison and that all charges against
him are dropped. We also ask that you take all necessary steps to ensure
that the offence of defamation is decriminalised and replaced by a civil
award of reasonable damages.
We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.
Yours sincerely,
Seok Hyun Hong
President
World Association of Newspapers
Gloria Brown Anderson
President
World Editors Forum
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