Two Ethiopian journalists released from prison

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 14 February 2018

Eskinder Nega and Woubshet Taye, Ethiopian journalists, were released after serving nearly seven years in prison. Their convictions were seen as unjust and retaliatory.

Summary

NEW YORK - The Committee to Protect Journalists has welcomed news that Ethiopian journalists Eskinder Nega and Woubshet Taye have been freed from prison after each served nearly seven years.

"We are pleased that Eskinder Nega and Woubshet Taye are finally free since their arrests and convictions were shameful miscarriages of justice," said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Angela Quintal in a statement. "We now urge the Ethiopian government to drop charges against other journalists and to implement the reforms needed for a free press to flourish."

Woubshet and Eskinder were both arrested in 2011 and convicted in 2012 in unrelated cases. CPJ research shows that the terror-related charges the journalists faced were fabricated in retaliation for their critical reporting.

Eskinder, a prominent columnist and editor of now-shuttered newspapers, and Woubshet, a former editor with the weekly newspaper Awramba Times, were among 746 prisoners that the Ethiopian government last week announced would be pardoned, according to news reports.

KEY POINTS:

• Eskinder Nega and Woubshet Taye released after nearly seven years in prison.
• Their arrests in 2011 were criticized as politically motivated.
• Charges against them were based on fabricated evidence.
• The Ethiopian government pardoned 746 prisoners recently.
• CPJ urges reforms for a free press in Ethiopia.