Saturday, June 25, 2011

Ethiopian journalist likely held under anti-terrorism law

(New York, June 23, 2011, (CPJ) -Ethiopian authorities have been holding a newspaper columnist incommunicado since Tuesday, local journalists told the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Reeyot Alemu, a regular contributor to the independent weekly Feteh, was expected to spend the next four weeks in preventive detention under what appears to be Ethiopia's sweeping anti-terrorism law.  

Alemu, at left, is the second journalist picked up and held without charge in less than a week and taken into custody at the federal investigation center at Maekelawi Prison in the capital, Addis Ababa. 

Deputy Editor Woubshet Taye of the weekly Awramba Times has been held since Sunday, according to CPJ research.

Authorities have not disclosed the reason for Alemu's arrest, but a local lawyer who requested anonymity for fear of government reprisals told CPJ that she has been transferred into preventive detention for a period of 28 days, pending further investigations.

This is the minimum period for preventive detention under Ethiopia's 2009 anti-terrorism law, according to legal experts. Ethiopia's code of criminal procedure allows for preventative detention for a minimum of 14 days, they said. Read more »
CPJ

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