(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Information Minister Wolde Michael Chamo, RSF expressed its grave concern after Seifu Mekonnen, journalist for the Amharic weekly “Mebrek”, disappeared and Asheber Bekele, journalist for the Amharic weekly “Genanaw”, was detained. The organisation asked the minister to do everything in his power to find Mekonnen. RSF asked to be […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Information Minister Wolde Michael Chamo, RSF expressed its grave concern after Seifu Mekonnen, journalist for the Amharic weekly “Mebrek”, disappeared and Asheber Bekele, journalist for the Amharic weekly “Genanaw”, was detained. The organisation asked the minister to do everything in his power to find Mekonnen. RSF asked to be informed of the place of detention and the reasons for Bekele’s arrest. “It is essential that the authorities reveal what this journalist is accused of, and where he is detained. It is illegal to detain someone in a secret place,” said RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard. “Furthermore, we are very concerned about the disappearance of Seifu Mekonnen, and all Ethiopian journalists are now very worried,” he added.
According to information obtained by RSF, Mekonnen disappeared after leaving his house on 20 April 2001 in the afternoon. Prior to that, he had attended a press conference given by the Ethiopian Human Rights Council at the Jerusalem Hotel, where its officials denied any connection between them and the violent riots which took place on 17 and 18 April in the capital. About thirty people were killed during the riots (see IFEX alert of 24 April 2001).
Bekele was arrested by police at home on 24 April, at the same time as young people who were suspected of taking part in the riots. He is reportedly still detained at the Addis Ababa police headquarters.
Ethiopia has been condemned by RSF as the biggest prison in Africa for journalists. Four journalists – Solomon Nemera, Tesfaye Deressa, Garuma Bekele, with the private newspaper “Urji”, and Tamrat Gemeda, with the private newspaper “Seife Nebelbal” – have been behind bars since 1997.
For further information, contact Jean-François Julliard at RSF, rue Geoffroy Marie, Paris 75009, France, tel: +33 1 44 83 84 84, fax: +33 1 45 23 11 51, e-mail: afrique@rsf.fr, Internet: http://www.rsf.fr
