Ethiopia slated for press abuse
2006-05-02 15:28
Nairobi - Journalists in Kenya on Tuesday demanded the release of more than a dozen colleagues who were arrested last year in Ethiopia during a crackdown on the independent press and were charged with treason and genocide, which were punishable by death.
A protest outside the Ethiopian embassy was scheduled for later in the day - hours after prosecutors outlined their case and listed evidence against at least 75 journalists, opposition leaders as well as human rights and aid workers at the beginning of their trial.
Ezekiel Mutua, secretary-general of the Kenya Union of Journalists, said: "Ethiopia should be expelled from the African Union for violating human rights and jailing journalists."
Govt critics 'politically motivated'
Charges against the journalists stemmed from violence that erupted in November during protests over disputed May 15 elections that returned Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to power.
International human rights groups had condemned the trial, arguing that the charges against the government critics were politically motivated.
A call to Fantahun Asres of Ethiopia's ministry of information rang unanswered on Tuesday.
Human rights watchdog, Amnesty International, called the defendants "prisoners of conscience who have not used or advocated violence".
Civil, political violence
The Ethiopian government had been cracking down in recent months on journalists reporting on the country.
One reporter was expelled from the country in January because the government believed his reporting was hostile to the administration.
Ethiopia had been wracked by civil and political violence since general elections in May. Opposition leaders claimed before their arrest that the balloting was rigged, and observers from the European Union found serious problems with the voting.
More than 88 people had since died in sporadic clashes with security forces during opposition protests or religious observances.
- AP