Pakistan Press Foundation condemns imprisonment of Somali journalist in Ethiopia
Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), an independent non-governmental institution committed to promoting and defending freedom of expression is concerned over the 27-year sentence imposed on veteran Somali journalist, Mohamed Aweys Mudey in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Quoting the information from National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), PPF Secretary General Owais Aslam Ali in a letter to the President of Ethiopia, said Quote “Somali journalist Mudey, 48, was accused by the Ethiopian prosecutors of having information about Al-Shabaab operations in Ethiopia and was charged for participating in terror activities. He was arrested in Addis Ababa in November, 2013 and in the month of February, 2014, he was found guilty of charges and imposed sentence as the 4-month period prescribed in the Ethiopia’s anti-terror law to interrogate suspect elapsed. During his trial, no lawyer or family member was with Mudey, and he was later shifted to an undisclosed place dedicated for people accused of terrorism to serve his jail term. As pointed out by the African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX), Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism law is overly broad and ambiguous; and undermines the international guarantees of freedom of expression, especially through its broad definition of “terrorism”. It is a matter of concern as to how the Ethiopian media environment has been characterized by arrests and prosecution of journalists recently. AFEX added that Ethiopia currently detains Reyot Alemu of Fitih newspaper; Woubeshet Taye of Awramba Times; Shiferraw Insermu of Ethiopian Television (ETV); Saleh Idris Gama and Tesfalidet Kidane Tesfazghi of Eritrean TV; and Eskinder Nega, a freelance journalist.”
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Pakistan Press Foundation condemns recent imprisonment of Somali journalist & calls for his immediate release along with others currently detained in Ethiopia to ensure freedom of press in the country.
Pakistan Press Foundation
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