For Immediate Release
Ethiopia: Free Zone 9 Bloggers, Journalists
A Year After Arrests, Drop Politically Motivated Charges
(Nairobi, April 23, 2015) – Ethiopian authorities should immediately
release nine bloggers and journalists arrested a year ago who are being
prosecuted on politically motivated charges, Human Rights Watch said
today. The six bloggers, who belong to the Zone 9 blogging collective,
and three journalists were
arrested on April 25 and 26, 2014, in a coordinated sweep in
Ethiopia’s
capital, Addis Ababa. They were charged under the criminal code and
anti-terrorism law for having links to banned opposition groups and
trying to violently overthrow the government.
In the past year the court in the Zone 9 bloggers
trial has adjourned
27 times, prolonging the case seemingly unnecessarily. The unreasonable
delays, lack of access to lawyers, and various procedural
irregularities raise serious concerns about the defendants’ rights to
due process and a fair trial, Human Rights Watch said. The next hearing
is scheduled for May 26, 2015, two days after Ethiopia’s general
elections.
“The stop-start Zone 9 trial underscores concerns that this is a
spurious prosecution before a court under the government’s thumb,” said
Leslie Lefkow,
deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should
drop the charges and release these young Ethiopians, so they can
contribute to the political debate rather than to the prison
population.”
Several of the bloggers have alleged that they have been mistreated
in detention. There has been no meaningful investigation of the
allegations. And on March 24, after several hearings, the judge in the
case dismissed the allegations for “lack of evidence.”
As of the 26th court hearing, on April 8, a total of 18 witnesses had
been presented, the vast majority of whom merely testified that they
were present when the police obtained the documents presented as
evidence, during house searches or from the defendants’ computers. No
witness has suggested anything that backs up the criminal charges
against the bloggers and journalists. The police and prosecutors have
continued to ask for more time to produce witnesses.
Two people told Human Rights Watch that they were approached by
security officials to provide testimony against the Zone 9 bloggers.
Each said they were told they would receive preferential treatment by
the authorities in their own cases if they testified against the
bloggers. They said they did not personally know the bloggers nor had
been witness to any of the bloggers’ activities. The two refused to
testify.
The arrest of the Zone 9 bloggers and journalists is part of a wider
government crackdown against independent voices, Human Rights Watch
said. Since 2010,
at least 60 Ethiopian journalists
have fled into exile, including 30 in 2014 alone. Another 19 or more
journalists languish in prison. Government harassment and intimidation
caused at least six independent publications to close in 2014.
The arrested bloggers are part of a blogging collective known as
Zone 9,
which provided commentary on social, political, and other events of
interest to young Ethiopians. The six bloggers are Atnaf Berahane,
Befekadu Hailu, Abel Wabela, Mahlet Fantahun, Natnael Feleke, and
Zelalem Kibret. The three journalists are Tesfalem Waldyes, Edom
Kassaye, and Asmamaw Hailegiorgis, an editor at the weekly magazine
Addis Guday.
Addis Guday has closed, and a number of its employees are living in
exile due to a concerted pattern of threats and harassment of staff. In
October 7, the Addis Guday publisher, Endalkachew Tesfaye, was sentenced
in absentia to three years and three months in prison.
The bloggers and journalists were arrested, three days after Zone 9
announced they would resume blogging again after several dormant months.
Initially they were detained in Maekelawi, the Federal Police Crime
Investigation Sector
in Addis Ababa where Human Rights Watch and others have
documented
mistreatment in detention. They were not formally charged until July
17. Soliana Shimeles, another Zone 9 blogger, who was not in Ethiopia at
the time of the arrests, was charged in absentia.
The prosecution claims the bloggers and journalists received support
from Ginbot 7 and the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), both among groups
designated as “terrorist organizations” in 2011 by the House of Peoples’
Representatives, the lower chamber of Ethiopia’s parliament. They are
also accused of using digital encryption to communicate, of getting
training in “making and detonating explosives,” and of having
connections with ESAT, an opposition satellite television station based
in the diaspora. The charge sheet states that ESAT “is the mouthpiece of
the terrorist organization [Ginbot 7].”
The charge sheet, obtained by Human Rights Watch, indicates that
“evidence” against the defendants was obtained from their homes and
laptops and includes documentation related to digital security and
various media articles related to their online campaigns on freedom of
expression, freedom of assembly, and respect for the Ethiopian
constitution. Documents about the activities of Ginbot 7 and the OLF
were also cited as evidence. Some of the material cited as evidence has
still not been presented to the defendants’ lawyer.
Given restrictions on traditional media in Ethiopia and pervasive
government telephone surveillance,
social media provides an important platform for young, educated
Ethiopians to share information and news. But the arrest and prosecution
of the
Zone 9 bloggers has had a wider chilling effect on freedom of expression, especially among critically minded bloggers and online activists.
Tools used by online activists around the world to protect their
privacy and the safety of their contacts are not viewed by many net
savvy Ethiopians as a viable option given the concern that using
ordinary encryption and digital security tools might be cited as
evidence against them, as has been the case with the Zone 9 bloggers and
journalists.
“When human rights activists and bloggers try to protect their
privacy online it isn’t terrorism, it’s common sense,” Lefkow said.
“Ethiopia, like other governments, should help protect the safety of
activists and journalists by promoting use of encryption, not punishing
it.”
Ethiopia’s prime minister and other senior government officials have
accused the Zone 9 bloggers in the media of having links to “terrorist
groups,” seriously undermining the presumption of innocence, a
fundamental right. The court has also failed to properly respond to the
allegations of mistreatment. Detainees have had only erratic access to
legal counsel. Family members were not allowed to meet with the
defendants until 13 weeks after their arrest, and continue to have
difficulty visiting their relatives. These and other issues raise
serious due process concerns, Human Rights Watch said.
Human Rights Watch and other organizations have repeatedly raised
concerns about Ethiopia’s use of the anti-terrorism law in politically
motivated prosecutions. The law contains overly broad definitions of
“terrorist acts” and “encouragement for terrorism.” Its vague
prohibition of “moral support” for terrorism has been used to convict a
number of journalists. Since 2011, at least 11 journalists, and possibly
many more, have been convicted for their journalistic activities,
contrary to media freedom protections under the Ethiopian constitution
and international law.