Attack on private press on World Press Freedom

By Eskinder Nega (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) – In a move that is widely believed to have been deliberately chosen to coincide with World Press Freedom day, the Ethiopian government has struck against the private press yesterday. This is part of the erstwhile slide to naked tyranny following the brutal crackdown after the 2005 election.

10,000 copies of a non political monthly magazine ,Enku, has been impounded by the police and its publisher and deputy editor, Alemayehu Mahtemework, imprisoned. The magazine was impounded last night just before it was set to hit the market early today, Saturday. Along with the publisher, three other persons in no way connected to the Magazine but who were in the van carrying the magazine out of the printing press were also imprisoned. The magazine’s cover story is about the imprisonment of Ethiopia’s pop icon and critic of the government ,Tewdros Kasahun, which is stirring political passions in the country.

The imprisoned are due to appear before court on Tuesday

Posted by admin on May 4, 2008. Filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.