Ethiopia's
record on press freedom is one of the worst in the world. The government
continues to use a vague Anti-terror law to prosecute and imprison journalists.
The threat this poses also forces many journalists into exile.
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Mastewal Birhanu Memo, fled
Ethiopia due to the criminal charges he was facing
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Famously
repressive in its treatment of media freedom and freedom of expression,
Ethiopia continues to manipulate vague and extremely restrictive laws to
prosecute journalists and suppress the flow of information throughout the
country.
A
high profile example of this is case of journalist Temesghen Desalegn, who was
imprisoned and charged with inciting violence over reports related to the death
of the late Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi in his newspaper, Feteh in July 2012. After being
released and fined 50,000 Ethiopian Birr (around $2,700) Temesghen has once
again been brought before the Ethiopian courts, facing charges of defamation
and incitement to public violence and disorder.
DCMF
met with Mastewal Birhanu Memo, 27, general manager of Feteh, journalist
and colleague of Temesghen, who had recently fled Addis Ababa and embarked upon
like in exile in Nairobi.
Mastewal
was facing prosecution under the same case as Temesghen, facing a heavy jail
sentence if found guilty. With little faith in the Ethiopian justice
system, he felt that he had no choice but to leave his country.
“I
spoke to Temesghen on April 2,” said Mastewal, adding “he was shocked when I
told him that I was going to leave and he tried to convince me to stay.”
“Temesghen
is a person of courage and commitment and he is working under fierce pressures
and threats and stress – even his doctor has warned him to rest, but he refuses
to rest and gives everything to his work,” he said.
“He
is ready to accept any measures from the government,” he added.
Constant
surveillance, constant control
And
the government’s track record is not particularly encouraging. As
well as the numerous difficulties which Temesghen has faced, Mastewal also
mentioned the case of the female journalist, Reeyot
Alemu who has been serving a five-year prison sentence since June
2011. Suffering from a number of medical issues, the winner of the 2013
UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, is reportedly not
receiving the treatment she requires. Her case provides a clear example
of the government’s use of the Anti-terrorism law to control and oppress the
media.
Fellow
journalist, Araya Getachew Alayu fled Ethiopia with Mastewal and had also spent
less than a week in his new country. He highlighted the courts’ use of
personal information and excessive surveillance of journalists as another
threat to media freedom in Ethiopia.
“I
was in court when they charged Reeyot and everyone in court heard her personal
phone conversations including with other journalists,” he explained, adding “it
was so shocking – they had all the personal information and emails, even though
they had nothing to do with work.”
“The
thing is, if you communicate with journalists in Ethiopia, every conversation
is recorded.”
“It
is painful to wake up every day and think of our friends in jail – they are
being treated very badly and they are suffering, it is so difficult,” he noted.
The
Anti-terrorism and media laws in Ethiopia mean that communication with any
international organisations can be manipulated and used against a journalist as
proof of espionage, leading to many journalists ending up in jail.
“The
Anti-terrorism law in Ethiopia is very vague and they don’t need any kind of
evidence – if they suspect you are involved in violent activists against the
government, they can prosecute you under this law,” noted their countryman and
fellow exiled journalist, Fasil Burda, adding “that is very discouraging for
the press.”
“Democracy…can
be delayed but not defeated”
Another
particularly prominent journalist to have experienced severe repression in
Ethiopia is Eskinder Nega, who was handed an 18-year jail sentence in 2012
under the controversial Anti-terrorism law.
Nega
recently wrote a letter
from his jail cell in Kality prison, in which he emphasised his commitment to
fighting for democracy in Ethiopia, and his hopes for the future of his
country.
Individuals
can be penalised, made to suffer [oh, how I miss my child] and even killed. But
democracy is a destiny of humanity which can not be averted. It can be delayed
but not defeated.
The
letter highlights the government’s control over the legal system in Ethiopia:
The
government has been able to lie in a court of law effortlessly as a function of
the moral paucity of our politics. All the great crimes of history, lest we
forget, have their genesis in the moral wilderness of their times.
And
signs off by recognising the impact of such repression on people all over the
world:
Why
should the rest of the world care? Horace said it best: mutate nomine de te
fabula narratur. “Change only the name and this story is also about you.” Where
ever justice suffers our common humanity suffers, too.
I
will live to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It may or may not be a
long wait. Whichever way events may go, I shall persevere!
"Noone
ever wants to leave their country"
Although
the death of Prime Minister Zenawi brought about relative hope that press
freedom might open up in Ethiopia, there does not seem to have been any
positive change in the government’s attitude towards the media.
“It
is difficult to compare the days before Meles and after his death,” said
Mastewal, explaining that while the regime was extremely restrictive, the
political divisions which have emerged since the former Prime Minister’s death
have led to further instability and a sense of unease within the country.
Whatever
the result of his court case and despite the ordeal which he has already faced,
Mastewal is unwavering in his commitment to journalism and remains steadfast in
his belief that what himself, Temesghen and their colleagues did at Feteh was the right
thing to do.
He
explained that he has absolutely no regrets for the work they carried out at
the newspaper, and expressed his pride at having played in his part in the
ever-intensifying battle for media freedom in Ethiopia.
“Journalism
is what is inside me – there is nothing else I could do,” he added.
This
is the unfortunate reality of working as a journalist in Ethiopia.
Mastewal was fully aware that his work may have resulted in him facing the same
sort of punishment as his former colleagues Temesghen, Alemu and Nega. As
a 27-year-old, with a burning desire to develop professionally it is hardly
surprising that he chose to seek life in exile.
“If
things could get better then I would be ready to go back and work with my
colleagues. Noone ever wants to leave their country,” he said, adding
“but I do not think things will get any better for a long time.”
Source:
Doha Centre for Media Freedom
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