Ethiopia admits imposing new restrictions against jailed journalist - Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

September 19, 2013 (ADDIS ABABA) – The Ethiopian government on Thursday admitted imposing new visitor restrictions against journalist Reeyot Alemu, who remains in prison on terrorism-related offenses.

Reeyot Alemu (CPJ)

“Reeyot Alemu has repeatedly violated prison laws, she is abusive and ill-reputed. As a result prison officials, according to the law, have taken disciplinary measures”, government spokesperson, Shimels Kemal told Sudan Tribune.

Kemal said the latest restrictions were only imposed on her regular visitors and not her relatives.

However, the official warned that if Alemu continues to violate prison laws and regulations, authorities have the right to even restrict her from having any visitors.

Press freedom group, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), said the new restrictions were in retaliation against a hunger strike she began on Wednesday in protest against orders by prison authorities to turn in a list of her visitors.

Alemu, who has been a columnist for the banned private weekly Fitih, was detained in June 2011 after she was found guilty of terrorism related charges.

Her original 14-year sentence was reduced to five years last August after an appeal lodged at the Federal Supreme Court.

RIGHT GROUPS REACTIONS

International right groups have condemned the measures and are calling for an urgent lifting of the new restrictions.

"We call upon the Ethiopian authorities to lift these latest restrictions and allow Reeyot Alemu to receive all visitors," said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes.

"She is a journalist, not a criminal, and should not be behind bars," Rhodes added.

CPJ said the denial of rights to Reeyot runs counter to the Ethiopian Constitution, which states: "All persons shall have the opportunity to communicate with, and to be visited by, their spouses or partners, relatives and friends, religious counselors, lawyers and medical practitioners."

Reporters Without Borders similarly condemned the decision and expressed grave concern over her situation.

"The denial of visitors to Reyot Alemu is endangering her mental health," Reporters Without Borders said.

"This further deterioration in her situation compounds the already deplorable conditions that she has endured for more than two years. We call for her immediate and unconditional release."

REEYOT NOT A “JOURNALIST”

Speaking to Sudan Tribune, government spokesperson, Shimels Kemal stressed that Reyot Alemu was not a journalist and addressing her as journalist must be corrected.

“She is professionally an elementary school teacher and occasionally writing to a little known circulation won’t make her a journalist” he said.

He added she was involved with a terrorist network and was accordingly found guilty by court.

“It is not right for CPJ to stand by someone who is not a journalist. CPJ is taking wild imaginations only aimed to blame Ethiopia and tarnish [the] country’s image” Kemal further said.

(ST)

KTN reporter threatened for exposing hospital scandal - Committee to Protect Journalists

Kenyan journalist Robert Wanyonyi is being threatened for his coverage of a confrontation between villagers and police. (Robert Wanyonyi)

A screenshot of KTN's broadcast shows a room in the Bungoma District Hospital. The scandal is being referred to as 'The Sick Hospital.' (YouTube/KTN)

Nairobi, September 5, 2013--A TV journalist has received death threats twice this week following his coverage of wrongdoing at a hospital in the western Kenyan town of Bungoma, according to the journalist and news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities to immediately investigate the threats and ensure the reporter's safety.

Robert Wanyoni, reporter for the Kenya Television Network (KTN), obtained footage of a pregnant woman giving birth on the floor of the Bungoma District Hospital, the journalist told CPJ. The footage was taken on August 9 by another pregnant woman, he said. The video, which aired on KTN on September 3, shows the woman giving birth on the floor, followed by nurses scolding her and even slapping her.

"She delivered on the floor, a dirty floor and even had to walk, carrying her baby to another ward," Wanyonyi told CPJ.

The same day the story aired, Wanyoni said he received an anonymous call warning him to vacate the town or "we will send you to the grave," he told CPJ. At 5 a.m. the next morning, he said he received a similar threat. He has filed a police report about the threats.

Bungoma County Criminal Investigations Department Officer Peter Madeya told CPJ that he is investigating Wanyonyi's case and is attempting to track the anonymous caller through local cell phone networks.

Wanyonyi told CPJ that he requested comment for the story from the hospital's superintendent, Dr. Mulianga Egesa, who denied the allegations. He told CPJ that since the report aired, he has received at least 25 messages from citizens complaining of negligence at the hospital.

"Critical journalists such as Robert Wanyoni serve an important function by exposing gaps in the practice of medicine and in other public services," said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes. "Authorities must go beyond rhetoric and ensure that Wanyoni is safe, as well as holding those responsible for the threats to account."

Bungoma County Governor Kenneth Lusaka and County Cabinet Secretary for Health Grace Khayota visited the facility today and suspended four of the nurses for alleged mishandling of the patient, according to local journalists. In a press briefing at the hospital today, Egesa accused Wanyonyi of being "fond of reporting negative things" and said he would "deal with him," Wanyonyi and local journalists attending the event told CPJ.

The hospital has since banned the use of cell phones within the wards, including in the maternity ward, according to news reports.

The story has elicited shock among the Kenyan public, especially on Twitter. The hashtag#theSickHospital is trending on Twitter.

In 2011, Wanyonyi briefly went into hiding after receiving repeated death threats in connection with his coverage of coffee theft at a factory in Bungoma County.

Prison places restrictions on jailed journalist Reeyot Alemu - Committee to Protect Journalists

Prison places restrictions on jailed journalist Reeyot Alemu

Reeyot Alemu (IWMF)

Nairobi, September 1, 2013--The decision by authorities at Kality Prison to impose visitor restrictions on imprisoned journalist Reeyot Alemu constitutes harassment and runs counter to the Ethiopian constitution, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

"We call upon the Ethiopian authorities to lift these latest restrictions and allow Reeyot Alemu to receive all visitors," said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes. "She is a journalist, not a criminal, and should not be behind bars."

Reeyot, a critical columnist of the banned private weeklyFeteh, began a hunger strike on Wednesday to protest an order by Kality Prison officials to turn in a list of visitors, according to local journalists andnews reports. The officials did not provide an explanation for the request. In retaliation for the hunger strike, authorities forbade her from having any visitors excluding her parents and priest, local journalists said.

Two days later, prison officials said she could receive any visitors except for her younger sister and her fiancé, journalist Sileshi Hagos, the sources said. Sileshi was detained for four hours at the prison later that day when he attempted to visit Reeyot.

Reeyot stopped the hunger strike on Sunday, but decided not to receive any visitors until the restrictions on her fiancé and sister are lifted. The journalist is serving a 14-year prison term on vague terrorism charges that was reduced in August 2012 to five years on appeal.

It was not immediately clear whether the visitor restrictions were in connection with anarticle published by the International Women's Media Foundation last month that had been written by Reeyot. It is also unclear if the journalist wrote the letter from prison or if this was a translation of an earlier story. In the article, Reeyot criticizes Ethiopia's anti-terrorism law, an overbroad legislation that was used to jail and convict her for her critical coverage of the government.

Kality Prison Director Abraham Wolde-Aregay did not respond to CPJ's calls and text messages for comment. Desalegn Teresa, a spokesman for Ethiopia's Ministry of Justice, did not return CPJ's call for comment.

The denial of rights to Reeyot runs counter to the Ethiopian Constitution, which states: "All persons shall have the opportunity to communicate with, and to be visited by, their spouses or partners, relatives and friends, religious counselors, lawyers and medical practitioners."

In a December 2003 report, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment  stated that prisoners should be "permitted to have contact with, and receive regular visits from, their relatives, lawyers and doctors."The same report stated that "access to the outside world can only be denied on reasonable conditions and restrictions as specified by law or lawful regulations."

This is the second time in six months that the prison administration has put pressure on Reeyot, according to CPJ research. In March, officials threatened to put Reeyot in solitary confinement, according to sources close to her who spoke on condition of anonymity. Officials accused the journalist of indiscipline, according to news reports, a charge she denied.

In a report issued the same month, the United Nations Special Rapporteur determined that the rights of Reeyot under the UN Convention against Torture had been violated on account of the Ethiopian government's failure to respond to allegations of her ill-treatment. Reeyot had complained of mistreatment, and her health had deteriorated while she was held incommunicado in pre-trial detention, reports said.

Reeyot Alemu Ethiopian Prison Places Restrictions On her visiters

Nairobi — The decision by authorities at Kality Prison to impose visitor restrictions on imprisoned journalist Reeyot Alemu constitutes harassment and runs counter to the Ethiopian constitution, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Journalist Reeyot Alemu, currently serving a five-year jail term in Ethiopia, was awarded the Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize for 2013.

"We call upon the Ethiopian authorities to lift these latest restrictions and allow Reeyot Alemu to receive all visitors," said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes. "She is a journalist, not a criminal, and should not be behind bars."

Reeyot, a critical columnist of the banned private weekly Feteh, began a hunger strike on Wednesday to protest an order by Kality Prison officials to turn in a list of visitors, according to local journalists and news reports. The officials did not provide an explanation for the request. In retaliation for the hunger strike, authorities forbade her from having any visitors excluding her parents and priest, local journalists said.

Two days later, prison officials said she could receive any visitors except for her younger sister and her fiancé, journalist Sileshi Hagos, the sources said. Sileshi was detained for four hours at the prison later that day when he attempted to visit Reeyot.

Reeyot stopped the hunger strike on Sunday, but decided not to receive any visitors until the restrictions on her fiancé and sister are lifted. The journalist is serving a 14-year prison term on vague terrorism charges that was reduced in August 2012 to five years on appeal.

It was not immediately clear whether the visitor restrictions were in connection with an article published by the International Women's Media Foundation last month that had been written by Reeyot. It is also unclear if the journalist wrote the letter from prison or if this was a translation of an earlier story. In the article, Reeyot criticizes Ethiopia's anti-terrorism law, an overbroad legislation that was used to jail and convict her for her critical coverage of the government.

Kality Prison Director Abraham Wolde-Aregay did not respond to CPJ's calls and text messages for comment. Desalegn Teresa, a spokesman for Ethiopia's Ministry of Justice, did not return CPJ's call for comment.

The denial of rights to Reeyot runs counter to the Ethiopian Constitution, which states: "All persons shall have the opportunity to communicate with, and to be visited by, their spouses or partners, relatives and friends, religious counselors, lawyers and medical practitioners."

In a December 2003 report, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment stated that prisoners should be "permitted to have contact with, and receive regular visits from, their relatives, lawyers and doctors."The same report stated that "access to the outside world can only be denied on reasonable conditions and restrictions as specified by law or lawful regulations."

This is the second time in six months that the prison administration has put pressure on Reeyot, according to CPJ research. In March, officials threatened to put Reeyot in solitary confinement, according to sources close to her who spoke on condition of anonymity. Officials accused the journalist of indiscipline, according to news reports, a charge she denied.

In a report issued the same month, the United Nations Special Rapporteur determined that the rights of Reeyot under the UN Convention against Torture had been violated on account of the Ethiopian government's failure to respond to allegations of her ill-treatment. Reeyot had complained of mistreatment, and her health had deteriorated while she was held incommunicado in pre-trial detention, reports said.