By Human Rights Watch May 3, 2013 (Nairobi) – The Ethiopian government should mark World Press Freedom Day, on May 3, 2013, by immediately releasing all journalists jailed under the country’s deeply flawed anti-terrorism law. On May 2, 2013, the Supreme Court upheld an 18-year sentence under the anti-terrorism law for Eskinder Nega Fenta, a journalist and blogger who received the 2012 PEN Freedom to Write Award. Eleven journalists have been convicted and sentenced since 2011 under Ethiopia’s repressive anti-terrorism law, including six in absentia. Three of the eleven are currently in prison. Two other journalists are currently on trial … Continue reading →

(Nairobi) – The prosecution of 29 Muslim protest leaders and others charged under Ethiopia’s deeply flawed anti-terrorism law raises serious fair trial concerns. The trial is scheduled to resume in Addis Ababa on April 2, 2013, after a 40-day postponement. The case has already had major due process problems. Some defendants have alleged ill-treatment in pre-trial detention. The government has provided defendants limited access to legal counsel and has taken actions that undermined their presumption of innocence. Since January 22 the High Court has closed the hearings to the public, including the media, diplomats, and family members of defendants. “There … Continue reading →

Reports on the suffering of Ethiopians as they run away from their troubles at home and their miseries in the Middle East have been repeatedly made the headlines – from being drown in the Indian Ocean to being eaten up by wild animals. The recent acts against Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia however stand alone for its scale and cruelty. As an organization working for human rights of all Ethiopians regardless of religion, race, political opinion, Nejashi Justice Council (NJC) is deeply sorrowed by the humiliations against our brothers and sisters there. The acts are extremely awful and not only stand … Continue reading →

March 11, 2013 | By M. Zuhdi JasserThe following appeared in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs on March 11, 2013. From Somalian anarchy to Eritrean and Sudanese tyranny and civil strife, the Horn of Africa has long been a turbulent region. A notable exception has been the nation of Ethiopia. That might be changing. From December 15 through December 19 of last year, I was in Addis Ababa heading a delegation from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). We met with a wide range of people, from the American ambassador to Ethiopian government officials, religious leaders and … Continue reading →

The government’s uncanny response to “basic demands of religious freedom” has created a rare opportunity for a decisive break with a docile political past and for the “formation of a new collective consciousness” [AP] On February 5, 2013, Ethiopia’s only and publicly funded Television Station, ETV, aired a controversial documentary during prime time in violation of an outstanding court injunction. Oddly subtitled “Boko Haram in Ethiopia”, Jihadawi Harekat – Arabic for “jihadi movement” – ­denounces leaders of Ethiopia’s year-long protest movement for alleged links to foreign terrorists. Muslims in Ethiopia have been protesting the government’s control of the Supreme Islamic … Continue reading →