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New York, August 2, 2007 — Ethiopia’s High Court handed down heavy prison sentences to four journalists jailed in connection with their coverage of deadly post-election unrest in 2005, after the journalists waived their defense and pleaded guilty in anticipation of a pardon, according to local sources. All of them worked for now-defunct Amharic-language weeklies.
Editors Dawit Kebede of Hadar and Wosonseged Gebrekidan of Addis Zena were sentenced Monday to four years in prison each on charges of “inciting and conspiring to commit outrages to the constitutional order,” their former lawyer, Weneawake Ayele, told CPJ.
Monday’s ruling followed the Friday convictions of editor Goshu Moges of Lisane Hezeb and freelance columnist Tadios Tantu, jailed in February 2006 on similar charges, after accusations of “belonging to an illegal political organization,” according to Ayele. Moges, who had issued public statements critical of the government crackdown on the press and government opponents, was sentenced to 10 years and Tantu to 15 years.(More...)
Today's Top HEADLINES
-Letter from Senator Feingold to Condoleezza Rice on the Ogaden-Red Cross confirms pullout from Ethiopian region
-Ethiopia pledges to contribute troops to Darfur
-Grenade Blast Kills an Ethiopian Soldier in North Mogadishu
-Civilians die in Mogadishu battle
-At least 10 killed as Mogadishu violence surges
-Israel's Interior Minister says aliya from Ethiopia should stop
-Ethiopians slam comments of Israel's Interior Minister
-Kenya plans to import power from Ethiopia
-The Khat Controversy: Stimulating the Debate on Drugs
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
-Sierra Leone militia leaders convicted
-Hostage crisis: Seoul to seek US help
-Search Resumes For Victims of Minnesota Bridge Collapse
-Olmert and Abbas 'to discuss Palestinian state'
-Russia plants flag under N Pole
-164 dead in South Asia monsoon flooding
-Brain electrodes help man speak again
Picture of the day
The following is an Excerpt from the Ethiopian Orthodox church newspaper Vol. 1, No. 8.9.10, 1945:
"When Abune Petros came to the place of execution and was given to say his last words, he took his hand cross and removed the blue cloth that was rapped around it and blessed the people and said the following last words: “... May God give the people of Ethiopia the strength to resist and never bow down to the fascist army and its violence. May the Ethiopian earth never accept the invading army’s rule.” After that a swarm of bullets from the execution platoon pierced and killed bishop Abune Petros."
- Abune Petros: Martyr of the Millenium (by Fesseha Mekuria and Sven Rubenson)
-[VIDEO] - "Petros Yachin Se’at" (Petros At That Hour)" -a play by Poet-Laureate Tsegaye Gebremedhin
(Sources: Imperial Monuments of Ethiopia, mediaethiopia.com)
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