"Both the Criminal Code charges and the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation charges filed against the journalists and bloggers are equally unfounded. Therefore, the court should overturn the remaining charges and order the release of the defendants."
This statement was originally published on freedomhouse.org on 12 November 2014.
In response to today’s court decision to drop the Criminal Code charges and amend the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (ATP) charges against the Zone Nine bloggers and journalists, Freedom House issued the following statement:
“Freedom House welcomes the court’s decision to throw out the charges under Ethiopia’s 2005 Criminal Code,” said Vukasin Petrovic, director of Africa programs at Freedom House. “Both the Criminal Code charges and the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation charges filed against the journalists and bloggers are equally unfounded. Therefore, the court should overturn the remaining charges and order the release of the defendants.”
Ethiopia is rated Not Free in Freedom in the World 2014, Freedom of the Press 2014 and Freedom on the Net 2013.
Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and advocates for democracy and human rights.
