The open letter, signed by IFJ President, Jim Boumelha, advises the Secretary of State the Ethiopia is Africa’s second worst jailer of journalists after Eritrea and the country’s government continues to ignore calls made by a range of organisations demanding that it releases journalists in prison.
For many years the IFJ has been protesting against the crackdown on press freedom in Ethiopia, and the letter states that the Federation has campaigned for the releases of many jailed journalists, including award winning columnists, Eskinder Nega and Reeyot Alemu, both of whom were jailed under the country's sweeping anti-terrorism law, and more recently, Somali journalist Mohamed Aweys Mudey, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison.
The letter says: “We are sure, Mr Secretary, that you will agree with us that a free and vibrant media is the best guarantee of stability and development and the interest of your country will best be served by allies whose stability is based on democratic rule.” It concludes: “The IFJ would be grateful if you would raise the issue of journalists currently in jail with the Ethiopian governments and join us in requesting they are released, and for their colleagues to be able to work freely and openly without fear of reprisal.” The journalists who have been arrested are Tesfalem Weldeyest, who writes independent commentary on political issues for Ethiopia’s Addis Standard magazine and Addis Fortune newspaper, Asmamaw Hailegiorgis, senior editor at an influential Amharic weekly magazine Addis Guday, and Edom Kassaye, who previously worked at state daily Addis Zemen Newspaper and isan active member of the Ethiopian Environmental Journalists Association (EEJA).The group of bloggers are reportedly members of the Zone 9 group, which is known to be very critical of government policy. They have a strong following on social media. They are: Atnaf Berahane, Befegadu Hailu, Mahlet Fantahun, Natnael Feleke, Abel Wabela and Zelalem Kiberet.
For more information, please contact IFJ on +32 2 235 22 17 The IFJ represents more than 600 000 journalists in 134 countries