Reeyot Alemu is one in a number of
journalists who have been prosecuted under the vaguely worded and
broad-reaching anti-terrorism laws passed by the Ethiopian legislature
in 2009.
Students from the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of
Journalism and their professor — Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post
reporter Dana Priest — have launched the Press Uncuffed campaign to raise awareness about journalists imprisoned around the world.
The campaign, which kicked off last week at the Newseum
in Washington, D.C, is being conducted in partnership with the
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). It features jailed reporters
from nine countries, including Ethiopian Reeyot Alemu, winner of the
2013 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. Reeyot is
currently serving a 5-year prison term under Ethiopia’s controversial
terrorism law.
“These journalists were imprisoned for doing their jobs by
governments fearful of a free press,” said CPJ Advocacy Director
Courtney Radsch in a statement. “By recognizing these nine intrepid
journalists-most of whom were jailed on anti-state or retaliatory
charges-we hope to increase public pressure for their release and draw
attention to the hundreds of others who have been silenced by their
governments.”
CPJ added: “The journalists featured in the campaign have been
imprisoned on anti-state or retaliatory charges. Two are being held
without charge.”
They are: Ilham Tohti (China), Bheki Makhubu (Swaziland), Reeyot
Alemu (Ethiopia), Khadija Ismayilova (Azerbaijan), Jason Rezaian (Iran),
Yusuf Ruzimuradov (Uzbekistan), Mahmoud Abou Zeid Shawkan (Egypt), Ta
Phong Tan (Vietnam) and Ammar Abdulrasool, (Bahrain).
ህጋዊ የጉዞ ሠንድ በአግብቡ እንደተሟላ አየር መንገዱ አረጋጧል፡፡ ይሁን እንጂ የወያኔ እንባ ጠበቃ ነጭ
ለባሾች አማካኝነት ኢ/ር ይልቃል ጌትነት የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ሊቀመንበር ከአገር እንዳይወጣ ተከልክሏል፡፡ የሰጡትም
ምንም ዓይነት ሕጋዊ ምክንያት የለም፤ ያሉት ነገር ቢኖር “እርሶዎ ከአገር እንዳይወጡ ትእዛዝ ተሰጥቶናል፣ ነገ
ጠዋት 2፡30 ኢሚግሬሽን ይምጡ!” ከማለት በስተቀር፡፡ በኢ/ር ይልቃል ላይ እንዲህ አይነቱ የውንብድና ተግባር
ሲፈፀምባቸው ይህ ለሁለተኛ ጊዜ ነው፡፡
