Breaking News

Two journalists detained incommunicado without charge

July 7 2011
Source: 
http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/

The Awramba Times deputy editor Woubshet Taye and Feteh columnist Reeyot Alemu have been arrested. Neither has been charged to date but it is thought that both were arrested under Ethiopia’s sweeping 2009 antiterrorism law, which allows for prison sentences of up to 20 years.

On 19 June 2011, security agents reportedly arrested Woubshet Taye, deputy editor of the independent weekly Awramba Times, at his home in the capital Addis Ababa and confiscated various documents, cameras, CDs and copies of the newspaper. Two days later, on 21 June, Reeyot Alemu, a regular contributor to the independent weekly newspaper Feteh, was reportedly detained at a secondary school where she teaches English in the capital Addis Ababa; her home was also searched by police. Both are being detained incommunicado without charge at the federal investigation centre at Maekelawi Prison in Addis Ababa.

The authorities are yet to disclose the reason for either arrest. However, it is suspected that both journalists have been detained under Ethiopia’s 2009 antiterrorism law.

According to local journalists, Alemu’s arrest could be related to her articles criticising the ruling EPRDF party. Her 17 June column in Feteh was reportedly critical of the EPRDF’s public fundraising methods for the Abay Dam project, and drew parallels between Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

In Taye’s case, it has been suggested that his arrest may be linked to his alleged sympathy for the banned political party Ginbot 7, which the Ethiopian government recently designated as a terrorist organisation. Awramba Times provides in-depth political coverage.

Background
Ethiopia’s press law prohibits pre-trial detention of journalists and under the Ethiopian constitution all citizens detained must be charged or released within 48 hours. The country’s antiterrorism law, which criminalizes any reporting deemed to "encourage" or "provide moral support" to groups and causes which the government considers to be "terrorist", has been widely criticised as being vaguely worded and catch-all. It carries sentences of up to 20 years in prison.

Country: 
Ethiopia

Two columnists murdered and one editor missing in Mexico

July 7 2011
Source: 
http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/

The Writers in Prison Committee PEN of International (WiPC) reports about the murder of columnists Miguel Ángel López Velasco and Pablo Ruelas Barraza and the disappearance of editor Marco Antonio López Ortiz, all in the last two weeks. In the most recent incident, López Velasco was shot dead along with his wife and son in their home in Veracruz state on 20 June 2011, while Ruelas was gunned down in Sonora state on 13 June. López Ortiz has not been seen since 7 June, when he was reportedly abducted in Guerrero state. In all, a total of 40 of print journalists and writers have been murdered in Mexico since 2004, while 10 more have gone missing.

Unidentified gunmen broke into the house of Notiver columnist and editor Miguel Ángel López Velasco in Veracruz, Veraruz state, in the early hours of 20 June 2011, killing López Velasco (55), his wife Agustina Solano de López, and their son Misael (21). López Velasco was a well-known journalist whose column for the daily, “Va de Nuez”, written under the pseudonym Milo Vela, dealt with politics and security issues; he also wrote about politics and police. Local journalists have suggested that the killings could be in retaliation for a recent column about drug trafficking in the region. The Governor of Veracruz, Javier Duarte, has reportedly denounced the murders and ordered the state attorney general to launch a full investigation. López is the second journalist to be found dead in Veracruz state this month, following the appearance on 1 June of the body of La Verdad de Jáltipan columnist Noel López Olguin, who went missing on 8 March.

Pablo Ruelas Barraza, journalist for the regional daily newsappers Diario del Yaqui in Huatabampo and El Regional de Sonora in Hermosillo, both in Sonora state, was found dead on a street in Huatabampo in the early hours of 13 June. He had apparently been shot by two gunmen who had first attempted to abduct him. Ruelas (38), who covered general matters for the two papers, had received death threats from both politicians from both Sonora and criminal groups, according to local media reports. Some reports suggested that Ruelas had previously served a prison sentence for drug crimes.

News editor for the daily paper Novedades Acapulco, Marco Antonio López Ortiz was reportedly kidnapped in Acapulco, Guerrero state, on 7 June. That night he (42) left work and was later assaulted on the street by unidentified men who took him away. López Ortiz is responsible for overseeing the paper’s coverage of crime, among other responsibilities. According to local journalists, they are constantly threatened by organized crime groups to keep coverage to a minimum. Novedades Acapulco’s reports on crime are accordingly kept brief and do not probe the facts reported, in order to avoid angering and being targeted by the groups. The state attorney general has begun an investigation into López Ortiz’ disappearance and the National Human Rights Commission is reportedly also looking into the matter.

Background
Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to work as a journalist. Since January 2004, 38 print journalists and two writers have been murdered, while 10 print journalists have gone missing in the same period. Nine of the killings and three of the disappearances occurred in 2010 alone. Few if any of these crimes have been properly investigated or punished. PEN International believes that it is likely that many of these writers were targeted in retaliation for their critical reporting, particularly on drug

Country: 
Mexico
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