Source: CPJ

New York, January 26, 2012-A U.S.-based journalist convicted on politicized terrorism charges in Ethiopia was sentenced to life in absentia today, while two other Ethiopian journalists received heavy prison sentences in connection with their coverage of banned opposition groups, according to news reports.
Elias Kifle, exiled Ethiopian editor of the Washington-based opposition website Ethiopian Review, was handed a life sentence in absentia today, which followed a 2007 life sentence given to him also in absentia on charges of treason for his coverage of the government's brutal repression of 2005 post-election protests, CPJ research shows. A court in the capital, Addis Ababa, sentenced Reeyot Alemu, a columnist with the independent weekly Feteh , and Woubshet Taye, deputy editor of the now-defunct weekly Awramba Times, to 14 years in prison and 33,000 birrs (US$1,500), news reports said.
"The life sentence for Elias Kifle and the prison sentences for Reeyot Alemu and Woubshet Taye are based on their writings about political dissent. This verdict has little to do with justice," said CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita. "We condemn this politicized prosecution designed to cow critical voices into silence and call on the Supreme Court to reverse all the convictions."
The three journalists were charged in September with lending support to an underground network of banned opposition groups, which has been criminalized under the country's 2009antiterrorism law. Alemu and Taye were arrested in June and held for weeks on government accusations of plotting to sabotage telephone and electricity lines before they were charged. In the trial, government prosecutors presented as evidence intercepted emails and phone calls between the journalists, as well as more than 25 Ethiopian Review articles on the activities of opposition groups, CPJ research shows.
Eskinder Nega, another Ethiopian blogger, has been imprisoned since September and could be sentenced to death if convicted of similar politicized terrorism charges in connection with his coverage of banned opposition groups.
Kifle is the first journalist to be handed a life sentence in Ethiopia, according to CPJ research. Since 1992, two people have been executed after being given the death penalty, while other death sentences have been commuted to life in prison, according to an Ethiopian legal expert.
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Lij Imru Zelleke, retired Ambassador of Ethiopia, dedicates his life to the national cause and the well-being of his countrymen. Politician, diplomat, orator, negotiator, writer and above all,committed humanist and patriot. Throughout his life, he has actively participated to key historical events, both at home and abroad, acquiring thus a keen insight into the political and social affairs of the world. His writings reflect an unconditional passion for his country and a wealth of historical and political knowledge.




Leslie Lefkow is senior researcher and Horn of Africa team leader for Human Rights Watch's Africa Division. She has specialized expertise in investigating abuses in armed conflict, humanitarian crises, Sudan, and the Horn of Africa. She has conducted investigations for Human Rights Watch in Sudan, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Before joining Human Rights Watch, she worked for humanitarian organizations in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sierra Leone. Lefkow is a graduate of Columbia Law School and Bryn Mawr College.
Professor Getatchew Haile, Ph.D., F.B.A., is Cataloguer Emeritus of Oriental Manuscripts and Regents Professor of Medieval Studies at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library of Saint John’s University, 

Pursuant to the International Genocide Convention and the Declaration of Human Rights, and on behalf of the victims and survivors of the Ethiopian Genocide of 1935-1941, the Global Alliance for Justice - the Ethiopian cause seeks an apology from the Vatican along with acknowledgement, equity, justice, and fair compensation for the Ethiopian people from all concerned, and for the UN to rightfully include the genocide of the Ethiopian people in the annals of its historical genocide records and archives, in order that this long-ignored and untold story may be preserved, for a future world humanity.

Theodore M. Vestal has been a member of the faculty of Oklahoma State University since 1988, serving in the Department of Political Science, where he has been a professor since 1995, and in the School of International Studies. On 1 August 2008, he was granted the title of Professor Emeritus of Political Science. Professor Vestal teaches primarily in the field of constitutional law, with an emphasis on civil liberties and civil rights. His research interests include public law, contemporary Ethiopia, and international education. Dr. Vestal testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa in 1994 on "Ethiopia: The Challenges Ahead."In 2002, Professor Vestal was awarded a research grant from the Oklahoma Council for the Humanities to write a book about U.S. foreign policy and attitudes towards Africa generally and Ethiopia specifically as seen in the North American travels of Emperor Haile Selassie.

