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        HRW: Ethiopia Cracking Down on Media Ahead of National Elections

   by Marthe van der Wolf

   A new report by Human Rights Watch accuses the Ethiopia's government of
   systematically cracking down on media ahead of the May 2015 elections.
   The [1]report, released Thursday, details how Ethiopia has restricted
   independent reporting since 2010.

   Human Rights Watch reported Ethiopia's environment for independent
   media and journalists is becoming bleaker ahead of the national
   election this May.

   Researcher Felix Horne said there are patterns of government abuses
   against independent journalists who have different views than the
   government.

   "After articles are written, harassment comes from government
   officials, security officials and cadres in the form of threatening
   phone calls and SMS messages and in-person visits trying to get the
   individual to tone down the writings to comply with government
   perspectives on different issues. The next level is threats and
   harassment against family members, quite often arbitrary detention to
   intimidate and to pressure the journalist into censoring their
   writings. If that doesn't work, the next step seems to involve criminal
   charges," said Horne.

   The report, "Journalism Is Not A Crime," said that in 2014, six
   independent publications closed down because of government pressure, 22
   journalists, bloggers and publishers were criminally charged and more
   than 30 journalists fled the country. Most journalists are charged
   under the widely criticized anti-terrorism proclamation. A high-profile
   terrorism case against bloggers of the Zone9 group is ongoing.

   Human Rights Watch said the repression described in the report is
   leading to self-censorship. The rights group also claims that citizens
   and junior government officials are afraid of speaking to media out of
   concern of being disciplined.

   Horne said the repression has led to a reality where alternative views
   about the upcoming elections are rarely discussed in the media.

   "It is crucial and critical that there will be a vibrant and
   flourishing independent media that can contribute to the political
   discourse and the political dialogue within the country that can
   provide critical information and critical analysis about the political
   issues of the day. But sadly, given the decimation of private media
   that we've seen since 2010, that's just not happening," said Horne.

   The ruling party, which has been in power since 1991, won over 99
   percent of the votes in the 2010 elections, with only one parliament
   seat going to the opposition.

   A government spokesperson could not be reached for comment, but
   Ethiopia's government has repeatedly said that those imprisoned are
   criminals and not journalists.

   Human Rights Watch is calling on the Ethiopian government to release
   those imprisoned journalist and bloggers and to amend repressive
   legislation, such as the anti-terrorism proclamation.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/hrw-ethiopia-cracking-down-on-media-a
   head-of-national-elections/2608745.html

References

   1. http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/01/21/ethiopia-media-being-decimated
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/hrw-ethiopia-cracking-down-on-media-ahead-of-national-elections/2608745.html