The surprising response of the police spokesman on the case of the detained Ethiopian journalists Gobeze Sisay and Meaza Mohammed. According to the CPJ, On Thursday, September 8, authorities brought both Gobeze and Meaza before the Federal First Instance Court, Lideta branch, in Addis Ababa, according to Henok.
However, citing time constraints, the court adjourned their case until Friday, September 9, when authorities did not file formal charges but said they were holding the two journalists on suspicion of having links with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, a rebel group at war with the federal government and attempting to terrorize the public by disseminating information that supports the rebel group through various media platforms, according to a court document reviewed by CPJ.
The document did not specify the content in question or when it was published. Robel told CPJ that the court granted police seven more days to keep them in custody while investigating the case. Both journalists have been arrested previously in connection to their work. Meaza was held without charge for several weeks following arrests in December and again in May, according to CPJ reporting and media reports. In May, armed men thought to be military officers abducted and detained Gobeze for over a week without ever producing him in court, as CPJ documented at the time. “Ethiopian journalists should not have to work under threat of arrest.
The pattern of throwing critical journalists behind bars, which has become entrenched during the civil war, must be reversed,” said CPJ sub-Saharan Africa representative, Muthoki Mumo. “Police should release Meaza Mohammed and Gobeze Sisay, and ensure that they do not face further Teset in connection to their work.” Roha TV’s recent coverage includes a news report about the reignition of fighting on the ground in northern Ethiopia following a months-long lull, a round table discussion on how to stop the war, and a long field report on the killing of civilians in western Ethiopia. Recent coverage by The Voice of Amhara is overwhelmingly about the ongoing war in northern Ethiopia.
