Ethiopia the most internet censored country. .Journalist could face jail.
.The only trust media in Ethiopia.
Press freedom in Ethiopia is dwindling in light of ongoing anti-goverment protests in Ethiopia specially in Oromia and Amhara regional states, the two largest ethinc group in the country according to a journalists’ association.
The current Oromo and amhara protest get news coverage only by Ethiopian social media such as facebook and mainly through online newspapers which is based on out side of the Ethiopia.These media tells what is going on in Oromia and amhara protest as it happen to the public. Because of these, the protesters use these media as means of information and fight to the goverment for freedom and democracy.
On the other side, the government is very keen to control social media.In protest area of oromiya and amhara region, all means of social media block by the goverment stil now to control the issuse and to hide the protest to the internationl world. There is no transparency about who took the decision and for how long.
Nowadays,the Ethiopia goverment look seriously Online media and its journalists to any kind of measure.The EPDRF blame social media for all protest in two regions and that why the journalists who give news coverage for those issue will be jail.In these week,the goverment jailed three journalists family who work actively in oromiya and amhara protests.
Chala Gutu, Bedelu Gashaw and Tomas sebsibe family were detaines for one week by police.Police were not given any reason for their detention.There phones was taken during arrest.The goverment detaine journalists family to shut of there children mouth.
Oromo and Amhata journalists:
The goverment give special attenttion to social media that the journalist who are oromo and amhara and also seriously control all two regions media outlet.Police also cheek in randomly ordinary citizen phone without any permission what the person do and read sent mesaage in to the personal mobile.In cheek in time, the person used online newspaper media addres directly detention room.
Who is terrorist?
Ethiopia’s Anti-Terrorism Proclamation of 2009 has itself been criticized as vague and over-reaching. It punishes “encouragement of terrorism” with prison terms of 10 to 20 years. According to Human Rights Watch and AI, “critics of government such as journalists and political opponents could be charged for encouraging terrorism.The goverment uses these law to jailed critical journalist by the name of terrorist.If you write a story aginest the goverment, you are always terrorist.
What is the fate of journalism in Ethiopia?
Freedom of expression is the prsion.Journalist scape outside the country and jailed.All media outlet in the goverment hand.Except some online news paper, all tell the goverment lies to the Ethiopian.Journalism is under crisis in Ethiopian.
A report by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) released earlier this year shows that more than 30 journalists were forced to flee the country in 2014 in fear of being arrested under repressive laws.
The report claimed that some 22 journalists, bloggers, and publishers were criminally charged that same year and further six privately owned publications were shut down in reprisal for expressing critical views.
Ethiopia is the third worst jailer of journalists on the African continent, with at least 10 behind bars on December 1, CPJ’s 2015 prison census shows.