ETHIOPIA: Journalists charged with inciting public violence On April 25, authorities in Addis Ababa arrested and charged six members of independent blogger and activist group Zone 9 and three prominent journalists with attempting to incite violence through social media. All nine defendants appeared in court on Sunday. Human Rights Watchs (HRW) deputy Africa director, Leslie Lefkow, stated that the nine arrests signal, once again, that anyone who criticizes the Ethiopian government will be silenced. The government defends the arrests saying it has nothing to do with muzzling the media. Comment: An anti-terrorism law, passed in 2009, stipulates that anyone caught publishing information that could incite readers to commit acts of terrorism could spend up to 20 years in jail. In 2012, Ethiopia sentenced a prominent blogger and five other exiled journalists to between eight years to life on charges of conspiring with rebels to topple the government.
Posted on: Sat, 03 May 2014 16:53:34 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015