Blogger, journalists convicted of terrorism

"The Ethiopian government has a long-standing practice of using umbrella charges of terrorism to silence critical voices," said CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita. "These acts are part of a pattern to punish the Ethiopian press for their journalistic work."

Alemu and Taye were arrested in June and held for weeks on government accusations of plotting to sabotage telephone and electricity lines. In September, they were charged under the country's far-reaching anti-terrorism law without their lawyers present, CPJ research shows. Six other Ethiopian bloggers and online journalists were charged with terrorism in November, according to CPJ research, with only Eskinder Nega currently in custody.

Last month, two jailed Swedish journalists were sentenced to 11 years in prison on terrorism charges. More...Blogger, journalists convicted of terrorism

After all, this is a reporter whose wife, journalist Serkalem Fasil, gave birth while they were both in jail following the 2005 elections. When they were released in 2007, Serkalem and Eskinder were banned from reopening their newspapers. To survive, they rented their house in central Addis Ababa to a team of Chinese telecom workers and moved to a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of the city.

Like many good journalists, Eskinder is stubborn to a fault. Standing for free speech in Ethiopia can seem a Sisyphean task, but if Eskinder is principled enough to risk more years in jail - and possibly the death sentence - it's our obligation to stand with him.
More...Standing with Ethiopia's tenacious blogger, Eskinder Nega