(IFJ/IFEX) – According to Amnesty International, Shimelis Kamal, Berhane Negash and Teferi Mekonnen of “Nishan” newspaper, were arrested in Addis Ababa on 13 July 1998, on account of an article criticising the government for detaining and deporting Eritreans. The article reportedly warned against encouraging ethnic animosity. They were released after one day but rearrested the […]
(IFJ/IFEX) – According to Amnesty International, Shimelis Kamal, Berhane
Negash and Teferi Mekonnen of “Nishan” newspaper, were arrested in Addis
Ababa on 13 July 1998, on account of an article criticising the government
for detaining and deporting Eritreans. The article reportedly warned against
encouraging ethnic animosity. They were released after one day but
rearrested the next day after they had issued a press statement criticising
their arrests. The police are reportedly investigating whether they were
funded by the Eritrean government, which they denied – they are not known to
have any Eritrean connections and the articles did not support the Eritrean
government.
All three had previously worked for “The Reporter” – Shimelis Kamal, a
lawyer and former judge had been its legal adviser – and they had published
just four issues of their new paper, “Nishan”, which he edited. They have
not yet been taken to court – previous court appearances were cancelled,
although the law requires anyone arrested to be taken to court within 48
hours.
According to Amnesty International, the three detained journalists appear to
be prisoners of conscience imprisoned for their non-violent opinions and for
exercising their right to freedom of expression.
