Post #22100

#Ethiopia: Ahmed is throttling free expression in #Ethiopia: The Economist “Bold are the pens that remain unshaken.” In today’s Ethiopia “journalists often disappear mysteriously nowadays, taken by unidentified men to undisclosed places on suspicion of unspecified crimes.” The latest victim is Million Beyene, managing editor of the Addis Standard, a prominent newspaper and one of the few local outlets still brave enough to criticize the government. On April 15th masked men in civilian clothes abducted Mr Million from the newspaper’s office in Addis Ababa, the capital, saying he was “needed for questioning”. No one has heard from him since. The police deny that Mr Million is in their custody. But in February the government had revoked the Standard’s license, accusing it of violating unspecified laws and endangering “the national interest”. Last year security forces raided the paper’s office and detained its journalists. Many have resigned for fear of government reprisals. Scores of Ethiopian journalists have been arrested, beaten or forced into exile. Many foreign reporters have been expelled. In 2024 one was arrested while meeting an opposition politician and then deported. The politician was assassinated a few weeks later. The government promises more persecution. In February an official at the media regulator claimed that the Standard and others were waging a “co-ordinated information war” against Ethiopia. Fighting them was a matter of “national survival”. Ethiopia’s “sword remains unsheathed”, he added. Bold are the pens that remain unshaken. https://www.facebook.com/AddisstandardEng/posts/pfbid0XEUAL17WeumygXCeoqw4eRFZpALqdCfsBinQVHeVRL4XVDxWki22gEk5EdTgn9ztl