#EthiopiansMessageToObama is storming the internet while the government and its supporters kept quiet

The idea of this hashtag was discussed as matter-of-factly by like-minded friends on Twitter, just a few days after the Ethiopian government suddenly 'freed' some members of Zone 9 bloggers and journalists at the beginning of July. One of them was suggesting to exploit this opportunity to urge President Obama to press its Ethiopian counterparts to release the prisoners of conscience and to respect the rule of law. The other suggested this seemingly harsh hashtag.

BTW shouldn't we start some hashtag to make voices heard while he's visiting, pls shoot one!

— Faisal  (@FtihLeEt) July 12, 2015

This same guy posted on twitter conversation in Amharic (Ethiopian official language) “The hustle is getting harder, I wonder when exactly this guy [President Obama] is coming.”

On July 20^th 2015, an Ethiopian Muslim activist Facebooker revealed the plan inviting Ethiopians at home and abroad to use #EthiopiansMessageToObama hashtag in the social media from July 21^st – July 24^th 2015 between 9-10 GMT Ethiopian local time. In this the fifth of its kind social-media campaign, thousands of tweets were flooded the internet from all corners of the world.

According to Vocactiv, an online media, twitter users leveraged President Obama's final appearance on Daily Show last Tuesday (July 21, 2015) to highlight the injustices. Hundreds of tweets were posted with a hashtag '#EthiopiansMessageToObama' before, during and after the broadcast to draw attention to Ethiopia’s crackdown on dissent.

But, who are these twittering people trending the hashtag #EthiopiansMessageToObama on the social media? Many of them are Ethiopians who accuse their government

As Wazema Radio turns one, its editor shares some thoughts

Argaw Ashine has served as a journalist for 18 years at different media organizations inside Ethiopia, including governmental, private and foreign media outlets. He was also in charge of various journalism unions in the country.

Ashine was one of the people whose names were listed in a Wikileaks report as a main source for the now defunct Addis-Neger Amharic newspaper. He left Ethiopia on September 2011 after the Ethiopian Federal Police gave him the ultimatum of either revealing his government sources or fleeing the country. He now resides in the U.S. and works as a researcher in media related issues. He also volunteers as the editor-in-chief for Wazema Radio – a dissident podcast he established together with other exiled Ethiopian journalists from Sweden and North America.
iREFUGEE talked to Ashine in an exclusive interview about his work at Wazema Radio — which marked its first anniversary this past June  — and also discussed the release of jailed Ethiopian writers and other matters related to the Ethiopian media.
How and by whom was Wazema Radio established?
ASHINE: Wazema Radio was launched in June 2014 by four exiled journalists, namely the trio of the

የማራኪ መጽሄት ባለቤት ጋዜጠኛ ሚሊዮን ሹሩቤ በስደት በሚኖርበት ናይሮቢ ኬንያ ህይወቱ አለፈ

በስደት ላይ ሞት እንዴት ያሳዝናል።  አገሩም ላይ ሳይደላው፡ በስደት ላይ እንደወጣ ለቀረው የሙያ አጋራችን ነፍስህ በሰላም ትረፍ።  የህውሃትን ወከባ እና አፈና አመለጥኩ ሲል በዚህ መልኩ መሞት ግን ህይወት አንዳንዴ ለምን በጣም ብዙ ጊዜ በየዋሃን ላይ እንደምትጨክን ያሳያል። የሚሊዮን ሞት ለቤተሰቡ እና ለሙያ አጋሮቹ ምን ያህል ከባድ እንደሆነ ከራሴ ልምድ አውቀዋለሁ። ወይ ነዶ ስደት ለወሬ አይመችም። ለሚሊዮን ቤተሰቦች፡ወዳጆች እና የሙያ ባልደረቦች መጽናናቱን ይሰጣችሁ ዘንድ ምኞቴን እየገለጽኩ ይህ በስልጣን ላይ ያለው መንግስት ወይ ልብ ይስጠው ወይ ደግሞ መጨረሻውን ያቅርበው፡ አሜን።

ከሞቱ አሟሟቱ ካገሩ በወጣ በወር ከአስር ቀኑ በሞት ያጣነው ጋዜጠኛ ሚሊየን ሹርቤ የመጨረሳዎቹ ቀናት
ጋዜጠኛ ሚሊዮን በመጨረሻዎቹ ሰዓታት….
የሚሊዮን አሟሟት እንዳስረዳችሁ ለጠየቃችሁኝ …
ጋዜጠኛ ሚሊዮን ሹሩቤ በኢትዮጵያ ነጻ ፕሬስ ከ12 አመት በላይ የሰራ ወጣት ጋዜጠኛ “ነበር”፡፡ በነሃሴ ወር ውስጥ በመንግስት ወከባ ህይወቱን ከእስር ለማትረፍ ተሰዶ ወደሀገሩ በሳጥን ለመመለስ እየጠበቀ ያለ ወጣት ኢትዮጵያዊ ጋዜጠኛ…ሚሊዮን፡፡ ተስፋ የነበረው ስደተኛ ጋዜጠኛ የመልካም ባህሪ እና ስብእና ባለቤት የነበረው ሚሊዮን፣ ስለሀገሩ ፍቅር ብዙ መሰናክሎችን ሊጋፈጥ ስደትን መርጦ ባሰበበት ሳይሆን በታሰበለት ሊኖር የተገደደው ሚሊ እንደወጣ በሰው ሀገር ልጄን እህቶቼን ቤተሰቦቼን ሃገሬን እንዳለ በድንገት

ባለፈው ሚያዚያ የተቀሰቀሰውን የተማሪዎች ዓመጽ ተከትሎ መንግስት ሃያ ጠባብ ዓመለካት አላቸው ያላቸውን የኦሮሚያ ቲቪ ጋዘጠኞችን ከስራ አባረረ፡ ሲፒጄ

የጋዜጠኞች መብት ተሟጋች ወይም ሲፒጄ በሚል የምጽሃረ ቃል የሚጠራው ዓለምዓቀፉ ሃሳብን በነጻነት የመግለጽ   ተሟጋች ቡድን ትናንትናው እለት በድረገጹ  ላይ እንዳስታወቀው፡ እነዚህ ሃያ የሚሆኑ በመንግስት ቁጥጥር ስር የሚተዳደረው የኦሮሚያ ቴሌቪዥን ባልደረቦች ያለምንም ማስጠንቀቂያ ከስራ ገበታቸው የተሰናበቱ ሲሆን በዓሁኑ ሰዓት መንግስት በሰበብ   አስባብ እንዳያስራቸው በመስጋት ተደብቀው እንደሚገኙ አንድ ስሙ እንዳይጠቀስ የፈለገ ጋዜጠኛ ለሲፒጄ ከሰጠው ቃለመጠይቅ ለመረዳት ተችሏል። እንደ አውሮፓውያኑ አቆጣጠር ጁን 25 እነዚሁ ሰራተኞች ወደ ቴሌቪዥን ጣቢያው መግባት እንደማይችሉ በስራ ሃላፊዎቻቸው እንደተነገራቸው ገልጸው፡ በምን ምክንያት ውሳኔው ሊተላለፍባቸው እንደተቻለ ምንም የተገለጸላቸው ነገር አለመኖሩን ለሲፒጄ አስታውቀዋል። 

እንደሚታወቀው ባለፈው ሚያዚያ መንግስት ሊያጸድቅ ያቀደው የአዲስ አበባ ማስተር ፕላን በዋና ከተማ ዙሪያ አካባቢዎች ላይ የሰፈሩ ገበሬዎችን ያፈናቀላል በሚል በተለያዩ የትምህርት ተቋማት ተማሪዎች ከፍተኛ የተቋውሞ ሰልፍ አስነስተው በሰው ህይወት እና በንብረት ላይ ከፍተኛ አደጋ ደርሶ ነበር። የኦሮሚያ ቲቪ ጋዜጠኞች ይህንን ፖሊሲ የሚተች ነው ያሉትን ዘገባ እና የገዥው ፓርቲ ባለስልጣናት የተሳተፉበትን ስብሰባ ከተቃውሞ ሰልፉ አንድ ቀን ቀደም ብለው ማቅረባቸው ከስራ ለመባረራቸው መነሾ ሊሆን እንደሚችል አክለው ገልጸዋል። ይህ አንድ ስሙ እንዳይጠቀስ የፈለገው ጋዜጠኛ ለሲፒጄ በሚከተለው መልኩ ገልጾታል።

"መንግስት እሱ በሚፈልገው/በሚመርጠው አስተሳሰብ ሊያጠምቅህ ካልቻለ፡ ከስራ ገበታህ ያፈናቅልሃል"

የጋዜጠኞቹን መባረር ተከትሎ አቶ በረከት ስምኦን እና የፋና ብርድካስት በአዳማ ከተማ ባዘጋጁት ግምገማ የኦሮሚያ ጋዜጠኞች እንዲሳተፉ የተደረጉ ሲሆን፡ ዓላማው የጋዜጠኛውን ክህሎት እና የስራ ብቃት ለማጎልበት ሳይሆን የጋዜጠኞቹን የፖለቲካ አቋም ለመሰል የተሸረበ ሴራ እንደነበረ፡ በዚሁ ግምገማ ላይ የተሳተፉ ጋዜጠኞች ተናግረዋል። ግምገማውን ያዘጋጁት አንዳንድ ካድሬዎች ለጋዜጠኞቹ እንዳሰረዱት፡ የተቋውሞ ሰልፉን በተመለከት የኦሮሚያ ቲቪ ሲያቀርቡት በነበረው ዘገባ ላይ መንግስት ደስተኛ እንዳልነበር ነው። 

እንደሲፒጄ ዘገባ፡ እነዚህ ከስራ የተባረሩት ጋዜጠኞች ከአምስት ዓመት በላይ የስራ ልምድ እንዳላቸው ለመረዳት ተችሏል።

ምንጭ ሲፒጄ   

የዞን ዘጠኝ ጦማርያን የማዕከላዊ ፖሊሶች የእምነት ክህደት ቃል በኃይል አስፈርመውናል ይላሉ

ወከባው ቀጥሏል

የፌደራል የመጀመሪያ ደረጃ ፍርድ ቤት አራዳ ምድብ ችሎት በስድስቱ ጦማሪያንና በሦስቱን ጋዜጠኞች ላይ የፌደራል ፖሊስ የተለያየ ምክንያት እየሰጠ ቀጠሮ የሚያራዝመውን ሁለት መዝገብ አንዴ ሲያቀራርበው መልሶ ደግሞ ሲያራርቀው ቆይቶ አሁን ደግሞ መዝገቦቹን መልሶ አቀራርቧቸዋል።   

ችሎቱን በፍርድቤቱ በመገኘት የዘገበችው ጽዮን ግርማ ለኢትዮጵያ ዛሬ ድረገጽ ከላከችው ዘገባ ለመረዳት እንደሚቻለው እስረኞቹ ራሳቸውን መከላከል በማይችሉበት ኹኔታ ፖሊስ ያረቀቀውን የእምነት ክህደት ቃል ተገደው እንዲፈርሙ አድርጓቸዋል። የሦስቱ ብሎገሮች አቤል ዋበላ፣ በፍቃዱ ኃይሉና ማኅሌት ፋንታሁን ቀጠሮ ሰኔ 22 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም እንዲቀርቡ የሚል የነበረ ሲኾን ከጠዋት ጀምሮ ችሎቱን ለመታደም የመጣውን ቤተሰብ፣ ጓደኞቻቸው፣ ጋዜጠኞች፣ ዲፕሎማቶችና የወጣቶች ደጋፊዎች በአጠቃላይ ወደ ሦስት መቶ የሚጠጋ ሰው ከችሎት ውስጥ የሚሰማውን አዲስ ነገር ለመጠበቅ በግቢው ውስጥ ቆመው ነበር። ከጠዋቱ አራት ሰዓት አካባቢ

2014 Golden Pen of Freedom awarded to jailed Ethiopian journalist

Mr Nega was arrested on September 14, 2011 after publishing an article criticising his government’s use of the 2009 Anti-Terror Proclamation to jail and silence critics, including Ethiopian actor and activist Debebe Eshetu.  He was sentenced on 23 January 2012 and denounced as belonging to a terrorist organisation.

In making the award, the WAN-IFRA Board sent a message to the Ethiopian government that misusing

To My Son- By Eskinder Nega

I was awed once again by the modest, humble and thought provoking letter of Eskinder Nega, an award winning Ethiopian journalists who has been separated from his wife and son and being incarcerated at the notorious Kality prison for doing the job he loves most. What is even more surprising about Eskinder's letter is that his endurance and composure to write such master piece from the worst unlikely places in the world where chaos, trauma, demeaning and degrading treatment of the inmates are a norm. Here is what he penned in his own word. 

A Hero in Son's Eye   

The mistakes of my life. Ah! I could go on and on and on about them. (Warning, I am aiming for your sympathy.) There are the missed opportunities. (God is generous, I squandered them all, literally.) There are the wrong choices (Hey there is at least the adrenaline rush that comes with every wrong move.) There is the conceited self-absorption (Obviously more and more as I rush through middle age.) There is the lack of direction (Bitter to admit, but true.) There is the incapacitating self-doubt. (Question: are you teary-eyed or disgusted?)

But here is what my strategy is not:

Post Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia's Human-Rights Situations Become Hopeless: Human Rights Watch

HRW (Human Rights Watch), the International watchdog disclosed this on its annual Human Rights Report for 2014 today. According to HRW's investigation following the death of Ethiopia's former Premier, 

Hopes that Ethiopia’s new leadership would pursue human rights reforms following Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s death in August 2012 have been shattered; there was no tangible change of policy in 2013. Instead, the Ethiopian authorities continue to severely restrict the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, using repressive laws to constrain civil society and independent media, and target individuals with politically motivated prosecutions.

Muslim protests against perceived government interference in their religious affairs were met by security forces with arbitrary arrests and detentions, beatings, and other mistreatment throughout the year. The trial of 29 protest leaders who were arrested in July 2012 has been closed to the public, media, and family members since January. Others convicted under the country’s deeply flawed antiterrorism law—including opposition leaders and four journalists—remain in prison.

Ethiopia’s ambitious development schemes, funded from domestic revenue sources and foreign assistance, sometimes displace indigenous communities without appropriate consultation or any compensation. Security forces have also used violence, threats, and intimidation to force some groups to relocate, such as in the Lower Omo Valley where indigenous people continue to be displaced from their traditional lands, which are earmarked for state-run irrigated sugar plantations.

Freedom of Peaceful Assembly
Since early 2012, members of Ethiopia’s Muslim community—which constitutes at least 30 percent of the country’s population—have organized regular public protests. Demonstrations were triggered by perceived government interference in the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs and the Awalia mosque in Addis Ababa.

The government has clamped down heavily on the protests, arbitrarily detaining and beating protesters, including 29 prominent activists and leaders who were arrested in July 2012 and charged in October 2012 under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. In January, the High Court closed those hearings to the public, including media, diplomats, and family members. Some defendants have alleged mistreatment in detention and the trials raise a number of due process concerns, including lack of access to legal counsel for some defendants for almost two months, and erratic access to relatives.

The government has also undermined the defendants’ presumption of innocence by broadcasting inflammatory material and accusations against them on state television. In February, the state-run Ethiopian Television (ETV) broadcast a program called “Jihadawi Harakat” (“Jihad War”) that included footage of at least five of the defendants filmed in pretrial detention. The program equated the Muslim protest movement with Islamist extremist groups, casting the protest leaders as terrorists.

Despite the arrests, protests continued throughout 2013. In early August, protests were organized in the capital, Addis Ababa, as well as in other cities to commemorate Eid al Fitr, the end of Ramadan. Witnesses described a heavy police presence in Addis Ababa, and credible sources said that police used excessive force to disperse the demonstrators and detained hundreds, at least temporarily.

The Semayawi Party (“Blue Party”), a newcomer to Ethiopia’s political scene, held a peaceful protest in June—the first large-scale protest organized by a political opposition party in eight years. A planned protest in August was cancelled when the Blue Party offices were raided by security forces, resulting in the arrest of dozens of people and the confiscation of equipment. The Blue Party had earlier been denied a permit by government to hold the protest.

Arbitrary Detention and Ill-Treatment
Arbitrary detention and ill-treatment in detention continues to be a major problem. Students, members of opposition groups, journalists, peaceful protesters, and others seeking to express their rights to freedom of assembly, expression, or association are frequently detained arbitrarily.

Ill-treatment is often reported by people detained for political reasons, particularly in Addis Ababa’s Federal Police Crime Investigation Center, known as Maekelawi, where most individuals are held during pre-charge or pretrial detention. Abuse and coercion that in some cases amount to torture and other ill-treatment are used to extract information, confessions, and statements from detainees.

Individuals are often denied access to legal counsel, particularly during pre-charge detention. Mistreated detainees have little recourse in the courts and there is no regular access to prisons and detention centers by independent investigators. Although the government-affiliated Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has visited some detainees and detention centers, there is no regular monitoring by any independent human rights or other organizations.

In July, a delegation from the European Parliament was denied access to Kaliti prison in Addis Ababa by Ethiopian authorities, despite having received prior authorization.
Freedom of Expression and Association
Since 2009, when the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation and the Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSO Law) were passed, freedoms of expression and association have been severely restricted in Ethiopia. The CSO law is one of the most draconian laws regulating nongovernmental activity in the world. It bars work on human rights, good governance, conflict resolution, and advocacy on the rights of women, children, and people with disabilities if organizations receive more than 10 percent of their funds from foreign sources.

Ethiopia’s most reputable human rights groups have either dramatically scaled down their operations or removed human rights from their mandates. Several of the country’s most prominent human rights activists have fled the country due to threats.

Ethiopian media remains under a tight government stranglehold, and many journalists practice self-censorship. Webpages and blogs critical of the government are regularly blocked, and foreign radio and TV stations are routinely jammed. Journalists working for independent domestic newspapers continue to face regular harassment and threats.

The Anti-Terrorism Proclamation has been used to target political opponents, stifle dissent, and silence journalists. In May, the Supreme Court upheld the 18-year sentence of journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega Fenta, who was convicted in July 2012 for conspiracy to commit terrorist acts and participation in a terrorist organization. Eskinder received the PEN Freedom to Write award in 2012. Reeyot Alemu Gobebo, a journalist for Feteh, was convicted on three counts under the terrorism law for her writings. Her sentence was reduced from 14 to 5 years on appeal, but her appeal of the remaining five-year sentence was dismissed in January. Reeyot was awarded the prestigious 2013 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.

Journalists covering the Muslim protests were threatened and arbitrarily detained. Solomon Kebede, chief editor of the now-defunct Yemuslimoch Guday (“Muslim Affairs”), was arrested in January and charged under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. Yusuf Getachew, his predecessor, was charged under the same law in 2012. Several other journalists fled Ethiopia in 2013, making it one of the top three countries in the world in terms of the number of journalists in exile.
Forced Displacement Associated with Development Programs
Both the government of Ethiopia and the donor community have failed to adequately investigate allegations of abuses associated with Ethiopia’s “villagization program.” Under this program, 1.5 million rural people are being relocated, ostensibly to improve their access to basic services. However, some of the relocations in the first year of the program in Gambella region were accompanied by violence, including beatings and arbitrary arrests, and insufficient consultation and compensation.

On July 12, the World Bank’s board of executive directors approved the recommendation of the Inspection Panel, the institution’s independent accountability mechanism, to investigate a complaint from ethnic Anuak refugees alleging that the bank violated its own safeguards in Gambella. The investigation was ongoing at time of writing.

Ethiopia is proceeding with development of a sugar plantation in the Lower Omo Valley, clearing 245,000 hectares of land that is home to 200,000 indigenous peoples. Displaced from their ancestral lands, these agro-pastoralists are being moved to permanent villages under the villagization program.
Key International Actors
Ethiopia enjoys warm relations with foreign donors and most of its regional neighbors. Ethiopia has forged strong ties based on its role as the seat of the African Union (AU), its contribution to United Nations peacekeeping, security partnerships with Western nations, and its progress on some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These strong relationships have contributed to the international community’s silence on Ethiopia’s dismal human rights record.

The year 2013 saw Ethiopia continue to play a mediation role between Sudan and South Sudan, while its troops maintained an uneasy calm in the disputed Abyei region. Ethiopia continues to deploy its troops inside Somalia, but outside the AU mission.

Ethiopia also continues to receive significant amounts of donor assistance—almost US$4 billion in 2013. As partners in Ethiopia’s development, donor nations remain muted in their criticism of Ethiopia’s appalling human rights record and are taking little meaningful action to investigate allegations of abuses associated with development programs.

Relations with Egypt worsened in 2013 due to Egyptian concerns that Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam will divert valuable water from the Nile River. An estimated 85 percent of the Nile’s waters originate in the Ethiopian highlands and Egypt is completely dependent on the Nile for all its water needs. At 6,000 megawatts of electricity, the dam will be Africa’s largest hydroelectric project. Construction started in 2012 and the dam is scheduled to be completed in 2018.

In addition to Western donors, China, India, and Brazil are increasingly financing a variety of large-scale development initiatives. Foreign private investment into Ethiopia is increasing with agro-business, hydroelectric, mining, and oil exploration all gaining prominence in 2013. Agro-business investment is coming mainly from India, the Gulf, and the Ethiopian diaspora, attracted to very low land prices and labor costs. As seen in several of Ethiopia’s other large-scale development projects, there is a serious risk of forced displacement of people from their land when some of these programs are implemented.

Source: Human Rights Watch 2014 Report 

መለስ ዜናዊን የተካው አዲሱ የኢትዮጵያ አመራር ሰብዓዊ መብቶችን የሚመለከቱ ማሻሻያዎች እንደሚያደርግ ተጥሎ የነበረው ተስፋ ተዳፍኗል

የ 2014 የዓለም የሰብአዊ መብቶች ሁኔታ ሪፖርት፡- ኢትዮጵያ

ዓለም ዓቀፉ የሰብዓዊ መብቶች ተሟጋች ድርጅት ሂውመን ራይትስ ዎች ዛሬ በለቀቀው የ2014 የዓለም የሰብዓዊ መብቶች ሁኔታ ሪፖርት እንዳስታወቀው የቀድሞው ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር መለስ ዜናዊ እ.ኤ.አ በነሀሴ ወር 2012 ዓ.ም. መሞታቸውን ተከትሎ በኢትዮጵያ የተተካው አዲሱ አመራር ሰብዓዊ መብቶችን የሚመለከቱ ማሻሻያዎች እንደሚያደርግ ተጥሎ የነበረው ተስፋ ተዳፍኗል፤ በ2013 ዓ.ም ተጨባጭ የሆነ የፖሊሲ ለውጥ አልታየም፡፡ ይልቁንም የኢትዮጵያ ባለስልጣናት ሃሳብን የመግለጽ፣ የመደራጀት እና በሰላም የመሰብሰብ ነጻነት ላይ የጣሉትን ጥብቅ ገደብ ማስፈጸማቸውን የቀጠሉበት ሲሆን የሲቪል ማህበራትን እና ነጻ መገናኛ ብዙሃንን እንቅስቃሴ ለማዳከም አፋኝ ሕጎችን ይጠቀማሉ፤ግለሰቦችንም ፖለቲካዊ መነሾ ያላቸውን ክሶች በመመስረት የጥቃት ዒላማ ያደርጋሉ።

Woubshet Taye, Award winning Ethiopian journalist, on prison odyssey needs medical care: CPJ

Berhane Tesfaye and her son, Fiteh,  (CPJ)

The International Rights' watchdog expressed its concern today after interviewing Taye's wife and their little kid who is being unlawfully separated from his father with TPLF's trumped up terrorism charges. Here is what Taye's wife told CPJ about their son's fear of being jailed when he grows up.   

"When I grow up will I go to jail like my dad?" This was the shattering question that the five-year-old son of imprisoned Ethiopian journalist Woubshet Taye asked his mother after a recent prison visit. Woubshet's son, named Fiteh (meaning "justice"), has accompanied his mother on a wayward tour of various prisons since his father was arrested in June 2011.

Authorities have inexplicably transferred Woubshet, the former deputy editor of the independent weekly Awramba Times, to a number of prisons. From Maekelawi Prison, authorities transferred him to Kality Prison in the capital, Addis Ababa, then to remote Ziway Prison, then Kalinto Prison (just outside Addis Ababa), back to Kality, and in December last year--to Ziway again. 

It is at Ziway, an isolated facility roughly 83 miles southeast of the capital, where heat, dust, and contaminated water have likely led to a severe kidney infection in Woubshet. The award-winning journalist was meant to receive medical treatment while at Kality Prison in Addis Ababa, Woubshet's wife, Berhane Tesfaye, told me, but it never took place. Suffering in such pain in his ribs and hip that he cannot sleep, Woubshet has not even received painkillers, according to local journalists who visited him.  

CPJ's attempts to reach Ethiopian government spokesman Shimeles Kemal by phone call and text message were unsuccessful.

Despite high transport costs and more than four hours of travel each way, Berhane and Fiteh try to visit Woubshet every week. Fiteh routinely becomes ill from the dust, Berhane said, and prison guards prevent Woubshet from hugging his son. Prison visits are often brief and canned, local journalists told me, as even discussions over Woubshet's health are restricted by guards assigned to monitor the conversation.

What terrible misdeeds could have triggered such a fate? Authorities sentenced Woubshet to 14 years in prison on charges lodged under Ethiopia's broad anti-terrorism law. The evidence includes email exchanges he had with Elias Kifle, exiled Ethiopian editor of the Washington-based opposition website Ethiopian Review, Berhane said. An email to Woubshet's brother in America was also cited as evidence against him, she said. After Woubshet's brother asked about their ailing father's eye operation, his reply that "the operation was done successfully" was used as an example of his terrorist activities.

Local journalists suspect the real reason lies in Woubshet's critical reporting at Awramba Times. Two weeks prior to his arrest, Woubshet published a column critical of the ruling party's performance in its two decades of rule. Another column, written in 2009, that questioned the whereabouts of former opposition party members after the 2005 elections may have also triggered his arrest, Berhane said.

While debates over the reasons for Woubshet's arrest may persist, there is one point on which all sides should agree: Woubshet must be allowed access to medical treatment. Ethiopia is a signatory to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and thus duty-bound to ensure the health of its citizens as a fundamental human right.

 

Ethiopia ranks again Second Worst Place For Journalists: CPJ

The International Press Freedom Watchdog, CPJ ( Committee to Protect Journalists) in its annual report for this year released today disclosed that 2013 is  the worst for journalist worldwide and Ethiopia is one these places where the safety of journalists is under extreme threat. Our country again named the second journalist jailer in Africa and our competitor, Eritrea is clinching its first place by holding twenty-two journalists behind bars for another reason doing their job - journalism. What makes our country is unique that it is incarcerating not only Ethiopians but two journalists from Eritrea who were captured in Somalia during TPLF's military adventure back in 2006. The whereabouts of these two Eritrean journalists are unknown, according to CPJ's report. In the meantime, our rulers are denying that there are no journalist who are jailed due their profession; an insult to our intelligence. But, I still wonder why is my colleague Shifferaw Insermu, who is the longest serving Ethiopian journalist since April 2004 and whose whereabouts is still unknown to these days,

No Lack of Freedom of Speech in Eritrea : Ambassador Tesfamichael Gerahtu told BBC

Seriously Ambassador? Lie, after lie; it just never stops. Have read (of course, you did) what Reporters without Borders written to your President? To refresh your memory, here are some of the accusations against your president.
Issaias Afeworki, Reporters Without Borders accuses you of committing the following crimes: Ordering, together with then information minister Naizghi Kiflu, the closure of all of Eritrea’s privately-owned press and the arrests of at least 13 journalists, newspaper owners and editors in September 2001. Imposing an unrelenting censorship and terror on the state media – including Eri-TV, radio Dimtsi Hafash (Voice of the Masses) and the Hadas Eritrea – which are the only media allowed in Eritrea. Masterminding and allocating major financial and technical resources for the jamming of the satellite signal of Radio Erena, an independent exile radio station broadcasting to Eritrea from Paris. Responsibility for the surveillance and harassment of the few foreign media correspondents based in Asmara until they all left. You share this responsibility with Ali Abdu, your acting information minister for nearly ten years (who fled the country in November 2012), and his close collaborator, Amanuel Hadgu.
pro-governement daily

Icing on the cake, three of your journalists who fled from the country on the "right track" with abundant freedom of expression to Uganda, were honored on December fourth ( a day before you gave this interview) for their extraordinary courage in continuing to report about government corruption and gender inequalities among others. Mr. Ambassador fool us once, shame on you; but fool us twice shame on us!

"Eskinder Nega is a journalist, not a terrorist" : Wife

Serkalem Fasil, Eskinder Nega's wife uploaded the following YouTube video message as part of Amnesty International's campaign for the release of her husband and other Ethiopian prisoners of conscience in Ethiopia's notorious prisons across the country. Nega was jailed two years ago and now serving 18 years of jail term with trumped-up terrorism charges at the infamous Kality prison, in the outskirts the capital Addis Abeba. Fasil and their son Nafkot (who was born in prison, while both of his parents were jailed following the 2005's rigged election), have fled Ethiopia and are now living in the United Sates of America. They were not even allowed to have a proper farewell with Eskinder Nega. Can you imagine saying goodbye for good to your loved one by just locking your fingers and with a few words? No hugging, no kissing, not even shaking hands. That is how Sirkalem and their Son Nafkot departed from Eskinder Nega; we take so many things in life for granted.

Serkalem Fasil's heart-breaking letter to her jailed husband Journalist Eskinder Nega

Prologue

Dear readers, especially those fans of Eskinder Nega and other thousands of Ethiopian prisoners of conscience. I listened on Friday morning, this heart wrenching, powerful, inspiring and genuine letter written and read by Nega's wife from exile in the USA. I was weeping like a baby while I was typing/transcribing her original letter written in Amharic ( Ethiopia's official language) by this courageous woman to her jailed husband who is serving 18 years of jail term at the notorious Kality prison, at the outskirts the capital Addis Abeba. Can you imagine saying goodbye for good to your loved one by just locking your fingers and with a few words? No hugging, no kissing, not even shaking hands. That is how Sirkalem and their Son Nafkot departed from Eskinder Nega; we take so many things in life for granted. Against this background, another Ethiopian journalist who had claimed 2 years ago being targeted by government authorities, returned back home saying 'he realized that he made a bad decision two years ago'. Ethiopia, is just a land of paradox; a mother for one and step-mother for the other.

ልብን የሚሰብረው የሰርካለም ፋሲል ደብዳቤ ቃሊቲ እስር ቤት ለሚገኘው ለባለቤቷ ጋዜጠኛ እስክንድር ነጋ

እንደመግቢያ

ዛሬ ጠዋት ነበር ይሄን አንጀት የሚያላውስ በሰርካለም ፋሲል የተጻፈውን ራሷ በድምጿ ያነበበችውን ደብዳብዳቤ ያዳመጥኩት። ኧቤት ግፍ፡ኧቤት መከራ? የእነዚህ ሁለት ኢትዮጵያውያን ወገኖች እና እስርቤት የተወለደው ልጃቸው ናፍቆት ወንጀል ምን ይሆን? የሰርካለምን ትረካ እያዳመጥኩ እምባዬ መቆጣጠር አልቻልኩም። እንደ ሰው በወጉ ተሳስመው፡ ተቃቅፈው፡ ተላቅሰው አይደለም የተለያዩት፡፡ በአጥር ሽቦ ተለያይተው፡ማዶ እና ማዶ እየተያዩ፡ ጣታቸውን አነካክተው ናፍቆታቸውን እና ስንብታቸውን በስርዓት ሳይወጡ በደቂቃዎች በሚለካ ንግግር ነበር። ከሁሉም የሚደንቀው እና ብርታት የሚሰጠው ግን የሰርካለም መንፈሰ ጠንካራነት እና በዚህ አስቸጋሪ እና ፈታኝ ሁኔታ ላይ ሆና ነገን በተስፋ ሰንቃ ባለቤቷን እና አብረውት ባልሰሩት ወንጀል በእስር የሚሰቃዩትን የሙያ አጋሮቹንና ሌሎች በሺህ የሚቆጠሩ ንጹሃን ኢትዮጵያውያን የህሊና እሰረኞች ተስፋ እንዳይቆርጡ የሚገልጸው ጠንካራ ያለው መልዕክት መላኳ ነው። ኢትዮጵያ ሃገሬ ሞኝ ነሽ ተላላ የገደለሽ በልቶ የሞተልሽ ተላ።

አዎ የገደለሽ በላ፡ ይቺ ዓለም ዝብርቅርቅ በተለይማ የእኛዋ ኢትዮጵያ  ከሁለት ዓመት በፊት ህይወቴ አደጋ ላይ ነው፡ልታሰር ነው፡ልፈለጥ ነው ብሎ ከአገር ኮብልሎ