Ethiopia’s crackdown on dissent drives opposition to push for ‘freedom first’

Government’s critics weigh options after ruling party landslide leads to loss of faith in ballot box while case of Zone 9 bloggers discourages free speech On the very day Ethiopia’s ruling party celebrated another crushing electoral victory, a young blogger on trial under anti-terrorism laws in an Addis Ababa courtroom lashed out at the authorities.

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Adeola confronts Hailemariam Desalegn in Nigeria

Notable satirist, Adeola Fayehun of Sahara TV took on several African leaders on the appalling situation of freedom of expression, democracy and respect for human rights in African states. After taking on President Robert Mugabe , Adeola and her crew also confronted the statue of Ethiopia Hailemariam Desalegn regarding the jailing of bloggers and journalists.

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Eritrea and Ethiopia named most censored countries in Africa

By TREVOR ANALO The eight other countries on the list are North Korea, Ethiopia, Azerbaijan, Vietnam, Iran, China, Myanmar, and Cuba. Report says the regimes use “a combination of media monopoly, harassment, spying, threats of journalist imprisonment, and restriction of journalists’ entry into or movements within their countries” to keep their grip on power. Eritrea

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Eritrea and Ethiopia named most censored countries in Africa

By TREVOR ANALO The eight other countries on the list are North Korea, Ethiopia, Azerbaijan, Vietnam, Iran, China, Myanmar, and Cuba. Report says the regimes use “a combination of media monopoly, harassment, spying, threats of journalist imprisonment, and restriction of journalists’ entry into or movements within their countries” to keep their grip on power. Eritrea

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A Year After Their Arrest, Ethiopia’s Zone9 Bloggers Remain Strong and Determined

By Ellery Roberts Biddle & Ethan Zuckerman Last April, late on a Friday, an email came over the Global Voices community list with the subject line: “Shocking”. A group of our authors and their fellow bloggers had been arrested earlier that day in Addis Ababa. Six of these men and women had worked with Zone9,

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Ethiopia Bloggers Evidence Doesn’t Back Charges, Lawyer Says

By William Davison (Bloomberg) — Ethiopian prosecutors have failed to present evidence relating to charges that a group of bloggers and journalists support terrorism, a defense lawyer at the latest court hearing said. Six members of the Zone 9 blogging group and three freelance journalists were charged in July at the Federal High Court in

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Ethiopia denies Temesghen Desalegn access to medical care in jail

Nairobi, March 16, 2015–Authorities in Ethiopia have denied medical attention to Ethiopian journalist Temesghen Desalegn, who has been imprisoned since October, according to sources close to the journalist. Temesghen Desalegn, owner of the now-defunct newsmagazine Feteh (Justice), is serving a three-year term in Ziway Prison, outside Addis Ababa, on charges of defamation, incitement, and false

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Ethiopia’s Growth Program Cuts Out Dissent – The WSJ

Girma Seifu Maru, the sole opposition party representative in Ethiopia’s 547-member Parliament, seen in a cafeteria near his private office in Addis Ababa, says he won’t run for re-election in May. Photo: Petterik Wiggers for The Wall Street Journal Lone opposition voice in Parliament says economic goals trigger clampdown on criticism ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia— The

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Ethiopians deserve a free press

By Tewodros Abebe, Accokeek The Feb. 9 editorial “Ethiopia’s stifled press” raised fundamental issues of human rights, democracy and governance. The journalists and bloggers languishing in prison committed no crime except to criticize the ruling party. If the government of Ethiopia is concerned for its citizens, as a spokesman asserted in a Feb. 13 letter

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