Journos held over poll reports

2005-06-03 12:44

Addis Ababa - Six Ethiopian journalists were briefly detained and questioned by police this week over their coverage of last month's hotly contested elections and its aftermath, officials said on Friday.

Two of the six, all of whom work for three independent newspapers in Addis Ababa, were summoned by police on Thursday and held for six hours while they were questioned about their publishing of opposition party statements.

"They warned us of consequences that may follow for reporting CUD's press releases as is," said Serkalem Fasil, editor and publisher of a weekly chief of the weekly Amharic-language Menelik newspaper.

The CUD, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy, is Ethiopia's largest opposition group and has accused the government of massive fraud and vote rigging in the May 15 election.

It claims the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) — which won the election but suffered significant losses in parliament, according to provisional returns — stole the election and has threatened mass protests unless its complaints are fully resolved.

The CUD's statements have been widely reported in the international press but have been all but ignored by Ethiopia's state media, which until the election had given unprecedented equal time to opposition parties.

Eskinder Nega, the chairperson of Menelik's editorial board who was also held, said the police appeared not to be interested in the journalists' news stories or opinion columns but rather their publication in full of CUD statements.

"We were accused of publishing the CUD's latest press release word-for-word," he said.

Police confirmed they had asked several reporters to "clarify" some of their reporting but denied reports that they were to be charged with inciting violence.

They declined to comment on whether the journalists could face other charges.

Serkalem said the police had told the six journalists they might have to appear in court on Friday, but they had no further information about such an appearance.

- AFP