Ethiopia
Newspaper editor jailed for misprintPosted Nov 10 2008
Following the chaos surrounding the 2005 general election, the government of Ethiopia has cracked down on the independent press. Now one of the few politically critical publications in the region, Enbilta, is facing prosecution.
The editor-in-chief of the private weekly Enbilta, Tsion Girma, was convicted Nov. 3 of the criminal charges of “inciting the public through false rumors,” according to the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX). She is being held in Kality Prison outside of Addis Ababa, the capital.
Girma faces up to one year in prison, said Kassahun Asefa, her former lawyer. Local reporters told the Committee to Protect Journalists the conviction was over a reporting mistake made by an Enbilta staff member.
The Oct. 3 edition of Enbilta misidentified the judge overseeing the high-profile trial of Ethiopian pop musician Teqodros Kassahun. Judge Mohamed Amin was named instead of Judge Mohamed Umer. Although Girma as editor chose not to run a correction in the paper, the next issue of Enbilta used the name of the correct judge.
According to IFEX, Girma is the second journalist to face criminal charges this year over the coverage of Kassahun's trial. Editor Mesfin Negash of Addis Neger received a one-month prison sentence after publishing an interview that was critical of the judge who formerly oversaw the trial.