Swedish journalists tell of Ethiopia prison ordeal, say terror trial was a ‘sham’ - The Washington Post

(Scanpix Sweden, Anders Wiklund/ Associated Press ) - Swedish reporter Martin Schibbye, front left, stands with Swedsih Photographer Johan Persson are welcomed by various friends and family as they arrive at Arlanda airport in Stockholm, Sweden, Friday Sept. 14, 2012. The two Swedish journalists were released from captivity earlier this week in Ethiopia after being pardoned by the government which had sentenced them in July 2011 to 11-years for abetting terrorism and entering the country illegally.

• 
• 
• 

• CAPTION
• FULLSCREEN

•   Text Size
• Print
• E-mail
• Reprints

By Associated Press, Published: September 14

STOCKHOLM — Back home after being imprisoned in Ethiopia for more than a year, two Swedish journalists on Friday dismissed their trial on terror charges as a “sham,” saying they accepted 11-year prison terms to improve their chances of being released.

Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson also said in a news conference that their apology on Ethiopian TV in connection with their release last week was not sincere.

“At that time we were still prisoners, and it was part of the process” of being freed, Schibbye said. “I did not mean it.”

The two were arrested in the summer of 2011 while trying to cross from Somalia into Ethiopia’s Ogaden region along with fighters from the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front, which Ethiopia classifies as a terrorist group.

In December, the journalists were sentenced to 11 years each for abetting terrorism and entering the country illegally. They denied the terror charges, saying they were in Ethiopia simply to do their work as journalists.

“This is normal, traditional journalistic leg work,” Schibbye said. “We were sentenced in a sham process to 11 years in prison, and then had to sit in a prison camp for all these months.”

The Swedes said that a video used as evidence against them supposedly showing the raid in which they were arrested was actually recorded several days later and was staged by the Ethiopian army.

Schibbye also said that in the days following the arrest an interrogation leader threatened to kill him in the desert.

“He said ‘you will die here, we will shoot you here today if you don’t tell the truth,’” Schibbye said. “One soldier lifts his rifle and points it at me, then aims it to the side and shoots into the brush. Then the camera comes up and a new investigation begins.”

Ethiopian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Dina Mufti called the journalists’ allegations “inaccurate” and “unacceptable.”

“They have been saying all along that they were being treated very well, they were even comparing the situation with other countries to say they were very ok and are better off here,” Mufti told The Associated Press.

The jailing of the journalists was condemned by rights watchdogs such as the Committee to Protect Journalists, which said their trial was “an affront to justice and press freedom.”

___

Associated Press writer Kirubel Tadesse in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, contributed to this report.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Ethiopia denies fake footage claims - The Local

SWEDES PARDONED IN ETHIOPIA

Ethiopia denies fake footage claims

Published: 14 Sep 12 08:16 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation 

Ethiopian officials deny the claim that they faked footage in order to get the two jailed Swedish reporters Martin Schibbye and Johan Perssonconvicted of terror charges, in interview with national Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Radio (SR). 

• Jailed Swedes subjected to fake executions (13 Sep 12)
• 'I knew in spring they’d be released': Bildt (11 Sep 12)
• 'It was the biggest mistake of our lives' (11 Sep 12)

“Why would we try to trick ourselves with a faked video? Our soldiers took them in and made sure that they were given a fair trial,” said Mulugeleta Ayalew, of the Ethiopian ministry of justice’s pardoning committee to SR.

The only evidence presented was that given to them by the soldiers who arrested the two Swedes in the Ogaden province:

“We got our only information from the soldiers who found them, it was no trap,” Ayalew said to SR, adding:

“I think…”

Neither did Ayalew believe that the trial was meant to serve as a warning to other foreign journalists thinking about reporting from Ogaden.

“The Ethiopian government has no reason to stop you from going there, as long as you have all permits in order. Ethiopia is an open country where everyone can move freely,” he told SR.

Ayalew told SR that their pardoning should be seen as a sign of goodwill between Sweden and Ethiopia, and may even serve to strengthen ties between the two countries.

Schibbye and Persson were arrested last year with rebels from the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) after illegally entering Ethiopia from Somalia.

The Swedes were in the remote southeastern region of Ogaden, populated mainly by ethnic Somalis, reportedly to investigate the activities of a company affiliated with the Swedish oil firm Lundin Petroleum.

The two Swedes were released from Ethiopian jail on Monday and after recuperating in another country for a few days will touch down on Swedish soil and be reunited with loved ones on Friday.

Ethiopia: Govt Should Release Journalists Still in Prison

Nairobi — The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Ethiopian government to set free six journalists in prison for their work, a day after Swedish journalists Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye were pardoned and released from Kality Prison in the capital Addis Ababa.

Persson, a photojournalist, and Schibbye, a reporter, were arrested on July 1, 2011, and charged under Ethiopia's far-reaching anti-terrorism law, convicted in politicized trials, and sentenced to 11-year prison sentences. Following their convictions, the journalists opted to forego an appeal and submitted an application to the Ministry of Justice Pardon Board.

Monday, the two appeared on Ethiopian state television and expressed regret for entering the country with armed separatists of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and without documentation. The Ethiopian government denies the media independent access to the oil-rich, Somali-speaking Ogaden region and has formally designated the ONLF a terrorist group. The two freelancers were on assignment for the Swedish news agency Kontinent investigating the activities of a company affiliated with the Swedish oil firm Lundin Petroleum, according to wire reports. They were captured after a gun battle between security forces and ONLF insurgents, in which both were wounded.

Since 2011, the government of Ethiopia has convicted 11 independent journalists and bloggers under the sweeping anti-terrorism law, some in absentia. Six journalists who remain in Ethiopian prisons are award-winning blogger Eskinder Nega; award-winning columnist Reeyot Alemu; Woubshet Taye of the now-defunct weekly Awramba Times; Eritrean journalists Saleh Idris Gama and Tesfalidet Kidane Tesfazghi, who have been held since 2006; and Yusuf Getachew, editor of YeMuslimoch Guday (Muslim Affairs).

"Martin Schibbye, Johan Persson and other journalists in Ethiopia have paid a heavy price for trying to uncover what the government is seeking to hide," said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes. "As Ethiopia begins a new year today, we urge the country's new leadership to truly begin afresh by releasing the six journalists still in prison."

Persson and Schibbye--who shared a cell with about 250 inmates and one toilet--are recuperating in an undisclosed location outside Ethiopia before reuniting with family in Sweden, Persson's father told the Swedish news agency TT.

The decision to pardon the two Swedes was approved by the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, according to a statement by Ethiopia's Foreign Affairs Ministry. Twice in October 2011, Meles publicly accused them of being accomplices to terrorists. In November, state prosecutors were forced to admit that footage used as evidence against the journalists had been edited and gunshots added to the audio to make it appear as if they were participating in weapons training, according to local journalists and news reports. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, in his personal blog, claimed "quiet diplomacy" between the late prime minister and Swedish officials led to their release.

Ethiopian Names 34 B/Generals 3 M/Generals - Tuesday, September 11, 2012 - YouTube

Ethiopian News in Amharic - Tuesday, September 11, 2012 - YouTube: ""

'via Blog this'

Ethiopia - Interview with two Swede Journalists pardoned by Ethiopian government - YouTube

Ethiopia - Interview with two Swede Journalists pardoned by Ethiopian government - YouTube: ""

'via Blog this'

Ethiopian irridentist regime liberate Swedish journalists

 Two Swedish journalists who have been imprisoned in Ethiopia for more than a year have been liberaed and are set to be freed, Ethiopia's justice minister announced Monday.

Minister Berhan Hailu told reporters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, that the decision to liberate photographer Johan Persson and reporter Martin Schibbye had been approved by the late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

The Swedish journalists are among 1,923 convicts in prisons around the country who are getting amnesty, he said, adding that only those who show remorse can be pardoned. The Ethiopian government has over the years released hundreds of prisoners in a ceremony timed to coincide with the start of the new year according to Ethiopia's calendar.

"The two Swedes are among the ones to be released," Berhan said. "The decision to pardon them was made in July."

The minister could not say precisely when the journalists would be released from jail, saying only that this might happen within the next 24 hours.

Persson and Schibbye have been in jail since July 2011, when they were arrested while trying to cross from Somalia into Ethiopia's Ogaden region along with fighters from the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front, which Ethiopia classifies as a terrorist group.

Last December the journalists were sentenced to 11 years for abetting terrorism and entering the country illegally. They denied the terror charges, saying they were in Ethiopia simply to do their work as journalists. Their jailing was condemned by rights watchdogs such as the Committee to Protect Journalists, which said their trial was "an affront to justice and press freedom."

Three journos held since 2001 die in Eritrea prison camp

After several weeks of investigating reports from sources in Eritrea and from prison guards who fled the country, Reporters Without Borders has been able to confirm that three more journalists - Dawit Habtemichael, Mattewos Habteab and Wedi Itay - have died in the northeastern prison camp of Eiraeiro. All three had been held since late 2001.

Another journalist arrested in February 2009, whose identity has not been established with certainty, has also reportedly died in detention - in his case, in Abi Abeito military prison near the capital, Asmara.

The only good news is that Tesfalidet "Topo" Mebrahtu, a well-known sports journalist who worked for state-owned radio Dimtsi Hafash and state-owned Eri-TV, was "released on bond" (he is still under surveillance, with relatives acting as guarantors) in early 2012 after being held for 10 months.

"While all eyes are turned on Syria, another, less visible, tragedy is being played out in Eritrea, a country forgotten by the international community although it is the world's leading media freedom violator and Africa's biggest prison for journalists," Reporters Without Borders said.