Zone 9 bloggers must be immediately and unconditionally released

Zone 9 bloggers must be immediately and unconditionally released

30 April 2014
ARTICLE 19 

 ARTICLE 19

ARTICLE 19 condemns the arrest of 6 ‘Zone 9′ bloggers and 3 freelance journalists in Ethiopia, all of whom have been charged with working with foreign organisations that claim to be human rights activists and receiving finance to incite public violence through social media. The journalists and activists should be immediately and unconditionally released. Furthermore, we urge United States Secretary of State John Kerry, who will be visiting Ethiopia on 29 April to prompt the Ethiopian government to release all bloggers, activists and journalists that have been arbitrarily detained.

The arrests came two days after Zone 9 – an independent collective of bloggers who use social media to campaign against political repression – announced their return to activism. Zone 9 had temporarily suspended activities following a period of heightened surveillance and harassment, and the timings of these arrests appear to be a direct attempt to silence their legitimate work and activism.

The six bloggers; Atnaf Berahane, Mahlet Fantahun, Natnael Feleke, Befeqadu Hailu, Zelalem Kiberet, Abel Wabela, and 3 journalists; Edom Kassaye, Tesfalem Weldeyes and Asmamaw Hailegorgis of Addis Gudaymagazine, were arrested on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 April and are being held at Maekelawi detention centre in Addis Ababa.

“These charges are yet more evidence of Ethiopia’s slide towards a complete disregard for human rights. The fact that the bloggers and journalists were hauled to court on a Sunday with no legal representation shows the government’s determination to convict them on trumped up charges,” noted Henry Maina, ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa Director.

“Coming just a few days before Ethiopia’s Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations and as the country gears up for the May 2015 elections, these arrests send a chilling message that alternative voices are not allowed in the country” added Maina. “We demand their immediate and unconditional release and further urge the Ethiopian government to stop intimidating and harassing journalists and activists.”

In its submission to the UPR, ARTICLE 19 noted that Ethiopia has mostly failed to comply with the recommendations that they accepted during the 2009 review, and the situation for freedom of expression and information has deteriorated rather than improved. State delegates must therefore seize this chance to ask Ethiopia’s government to respect its obligations of protecting and promoting freedom of expression. Specifically, we urge the State parties to call upon the Ethiopian government to stop intimidating, harassing, arresting and detaining journalists, including the Zone 9 group.

On 3 April, Ethiopian immigration officials detained a member of staff from ARTICLE 19′s East Africa office for 29 hours, without access to legal advice or consular support. He was thereafter deported back to Kenya and warned that he would face jail if he returned. ARTICLE 19 was one of the last remaining international human rights organisations working in Ethiopia and providing independent information to the UN Human Rights Council.

WHAT OTHER IFEX MEMBERS ARE SAYING

• Ethiopia arrests journalists, bloggers: At least nine people rounded up in crackdown ahead of visit by top U.S. envoy 

  “The Ethiopian authorities seem determined to crush any independent source of information, be it in print or online, and local, regional and international press freedom groups have so far failed to halt the ongoing harassment,” IPI Press Freedom Manager Barbara Trionfi said. “There needs to be concerted international pressure from Ethiopia’s donors and partners, including the European Union and the United States, to end the abuse and to pressure the Ethiopian leaders to respect their constitutional and international obligations to respect fundamental rights of media freedom.”
  International Press Institute 28 April 2014

• Ethiopia: Arrests Upstage Kerry Visit 

  Sources told Human Rights Watch that one of the bloggers and one of the journalists have been regularly approached, including at home, by alleged intelligence agents and asked about the work of the group and their alleged links to political opposition parties and human rights groups. The blogger was asked a week before their arrest of the names and personal information of all the Zone9 members.
  Human Rights Watch 28 April 2014

• Nine news providers arrested on charge of inciting violence 

  “Jailing journalists and bloggers has the effect of nipping democratic development in the bud. At a time when the situation in Ethiopia is about to be the subject of a Universal Periodic Review by the UN Human Rights Council, we urge the government to respect its national and international obligations to guarantee freedom of information.”
  Reporters Without Borders 29 April 2014

Ethiopia’s ‘villagisation’ scheme fails to bear fruit

 

William Davison in Gambella

April 22,2014

In the village of Elay, people are defying the government and returning home. Photograph: William Davison

The orderly village of Agulodiek in Ethiopia‘s western Gambella region stands in stark contrast to Elay, a settlement 5km west of Gambella town, where collapsed straw huts strewn with cracked clay pots lie among a tangle of bushes.

Agulodiek is a patch of land where families gradually gathered of their own accord, while Elay is part of the Ethiopian government’s contentious “villagisation” scheme that ended last year. The plan in Gambella was to relocate almost the entire rural population of the state over three years. Evidence from districts surrounding Gambella town suggest the policy is failing.

Two years ago people from Agulodiek moved to Elay after officials enticed them with promises of land, livestock, clean water, a corn grinder, education and a health clinic. Instead they found dense vegetation they were unable to cultivate. After one year of selling firewood to survive, they walked back home.

“All the promises were empty,” says Apwodho Omot, an ethnic Anuak, sitting in shade at Agulodiek. There is a donor-funded school at the village whose dirt paths are swept clear of debris, and the government built a hand pump in 2004 that still draws water from a borehole. Apwodho’s community says they harvest corn twice a year from fertile land they have cleared. “We don’t know why the government picked Elay,” she says.

Gambella region’s former president Omod Obang Olum reported last year that 35,000 households had voluntarily moved from a target of 45,000. The official objective had been to cluster scattered households to make public service delivery more efficient. Critics such as Human Rights Watch said the underlying reason was to clear the way for agricultural investors, and that forced evictions overseen by soldiers involved rape and murder. The Ethiopian government refute the allegations.

Last month the London-based law firm Leigh Day & Co began proceedings against the UK Department for International Development (DfID) at the high court after a man from Gambella alleged he suffered abuse when the agency supported the resettlement scheme. Since 2006, DfID and other donors have funded a multibillion-dollar programme in Ethiopia that pays the salaries of key regional government workers such as teachers and nurses through the Protection of Basic Services scheme.

A DfID spokesman said: “We will not comment on ongoing legal action, however, the UK has never funded Ethiopia’s resettlement programmes. Our support to the Protection of Basic Services Programme is only used to provide essential services like healthcare, schooling and clean water.”

Karmi, 10km from Gambella town, is a newly expanded community for those resettled along one of the few tarmac roads. Two teachers scrub clothes in plastic tubs on a sticky afternoon. A herd of goats nibble shrubs as purple and orange lizards edge up tree trunks. There is little activity in the village, which has bare pylons towering over it waiting for high-voltage cables to improve Gambella’s patchy electricity supply.

The teachers work in an impressive school built in 2011 with funds from the UN refugee agency. It has a capacity of 245 students for grades one to five – yet the teachers have only a handful of pupils per class. “This is a new village but the people have left,” says Tigist Megersa.

Kolo Cham grows sorghum and corn near the Baro river, a 30-minute walk from his family home at Karmi. The area saw an influx of about 600 people at the height of villagisation, says Kolo, crouching on a tree stump, surrounded only by a group of children with a puppy. Families left when they got hungry and public services weren’t delivered. “They moved one by one so the government didn’t know the number was decreasing,” he says.

The Anuak at Karmi have reason to fear the authorities, particularly Ethiopia’s military. Several give accounts of beatings and arrests by soldiers as they searched for the perpetrators of a nearby March 2012attack on a bus that killed 19. The insecurity was a key factor in the exodus, according to residents.

As well as the Anuak, who have tended crops near riverbanks in Gambella for more than 200 years, the region is home to cattle-herding Nuer residents, who began migrating from Sudan in the late 19th century. Thousands of settlers from northern Ethiopia also arrived in the 1980s when the highlands suffered a famine. The government blamed the bus attack on Anuak rebels who consider their homeland colonised.

David Pred is the managing director of Inclusive Development International. The charity is representing Gambella residents, who haveaccused the World Bank of violating its own policies by funding the resettlement programme. An involuntary, abusive, poorly planned and inadequately funded scheme was bound to fail, he says. “It requires immense resources, detailed planning and a process that is truly participatory in order for resettlement to lead to positive development outcomes,” he adds.

Most of flood-prone Gambella, one of Ethiopia’s least developed states, is covered with scrub and grasslands. Inhospitable terrain makes it difficult for villagisation to take root in far-flung places such as Akobo, which borders South Sudan. Akobo is one of the three districts selected for resettlement, according to Kok Choul, who represents the district in the regional council.

In 2009, planners earmarked Akobo for four new schools, clinics, vets, flourmills and water schemes, as well as 76km of road. But the community of about 30,000 has seen no change, says 67-year-old Kok, who has 19 children from four wives. “There is no road to Gambella so there is no development,” he says. One well-placed civil servant explains that funds for services across the region were swallowed by items such as daily allowances for government workers.

A senior regional official says the state ran low on funds for resettlement, leading to delivery failures and cost-cutting. For example, substandard corn grinders soon broke and have not been repaired, he says. The government will continue to try to provide planned services in three districts including Akobo this year and next, according to the official.

However, the programme has transformed lives, with some farmers harvesting three times a year, says Ethiopia’s ambassador to the UK, Berhanu Kebede. The government is addressing the “few cases that are not fully successful”, he says. Service provision is ongoing and being monitored and improved upon if required, according to Kebede.

At Elay, Oman Nygwo, a wiry 40-year-old in cut-off jeans, gives a tour of deserted huts and points to a line of mango trees that mark his old home on the banks of the Baro. He is scathing about the implementation of the scheme but remains in Elay as there is less risk of flooding. There was no violence accompanying these resettlements, Oman says, but “there would be problems if the government tried to move us again”.

በቤንሻንጉል ጉሙዝ አሶሳ ዞን ሚያዚያ 7 ቀን ማለዳ ሲጓዝ በነበር ተሽከርካሪ ላይ ታጣቂዎች በከፈቱት ተኩስ ዘጠኝ ሰዎች ተገደሉ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujQBx8PF93A

EU Parliament Decries Ethiopian Human Rights Violations (VIDEO)

Violations (VIDEO)

APRIL8,2014

Somalilandsun – European Parliament opened hearing about the Ogaden Human Rights violations and the Ethiopian prisons in Addis Ababa. The hearing,which was invited to participate in the Ogaden whistle-blower ,Abdullahi Hussein, and Swedish Journalist,Martin Schibbye,was held on April 2nd by the group the progressive Alliance of Socialist and Democrats in European Parliament and Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

“Ethiopia is one of the largest humanitarian and development aid receiver yet these donations are used incorrectly and corruptly.Western governmental Organizations and Western Embassies to Addis ababa ignored the stolen donations and humanitarian aid that are being used as a political tool by the Ethiopian regime,which is contrary to EU rules on the funding”,said Anna Gomes,MEP Head of international Unit party Socialist democrat.

Marita Ulvskog,MEP,in her part first thanked Abdullahi Hussein and Swedish Journalist,Martin Schibbye speaking about the steps needed to be taken in order to stop the human rights abuses that is being committed against Ethiopian and Ogaden civilians,she said that the EU could use sanctions or words against Ethiopia or follow up documents and information like the one provided by Abdullahi Hussein to show the reality in the ground.

Ogaden and Ethiopian hearing conference at EU House of Parliament.Ogaden and Ethiopian hearing conference at EU House of Parliament.

Abdullahi Hussein,who is the former regional Presidential adviser and head of the media in Ogaden presented a shocking footage that changed the EU’s view towards Ethiopia.

Abdullahi Hussein,who gained the title of “brave man” and nominated of the prize of Sweden’s civil courage of the year 2014, “Antigone award”, after he had put himself at risk for smuggling out over 100 hours of footage from the Ogaden Province requested the EU to put their words into action as the killing,gang-raping,and extrajudicial arresting still continues.

Speaking with Ogaden diaspora owned TV service of Ilaystv, Martin Schibbye stated that in conjunction with Abdullahi Hussein their purpose to reset was to tell the World what they had seen which is to fulfill a promise that he made to many people from Ogaden region,but also their co-prisoners in Kality Prison of Addis Ababa.Members of European Parliament,CPJ’s Jean Paul Marthoz and Human Rights’s Leslie Lefkow have also explained the human rights situation in Ethiopia in details to the EU Parliament.

Anna Lindy,chair of the hearing, presented the human rights situation in Ogaden and Ethiopia at the opening time of the session.By Ahmed Abdi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fQCpbTpESRk

ሰበር ዜና - ኢህአዲግ/ወያኔ የኖርዌይ ዜግነት ያለውን ትውልደ ኢትዮጵያዊ የቀድሞ የጋምቤላ ክልል አስተዳዳሪ ኦኬሎ ኦቻላን ከደቡብ ሱዳን ጋር በመተባበር ጠልፎ ወደ ኢትዮጵያ በመውሰዱ ከኖርዌይ መንግስት ጋር ዲፕሎማሳዊ ፍጥጫ ውስጥ ገብቷል።ኢህአዲግ/ወያኔን ''ድንበር ተሻጋሪ አሸባሪ'' ለመሆኑ ይህ በቂ ማስረጃ ነው የሚሉ አሉ።

የቀድሞው የጋምቤላ ክልል ፕሬዝዳንት ኦኬሎ ኦቻላን  በታህሳስ/1996 ዓም (ዲሴምበር 13/2003 እ አ አቆጣጠር) በጋምቤላ በተፈፀመው ጭፍጨፋ ወቅት ከሀገር መውጣታቸው እና በተለያዩ ሃገራት ከኖሩ በኃላ ወደ ኖርዌይ በመምጣት ዜግነት ማግኘታቸው ይታወቃል።

ሐሙስ መጋቢት 25/2006 ዓም ከ 150 ዓመት በላይ በሕትመቱ ዓለም መቆየቱ የሚነገርለት የኖርዌይ ቁጥር አንድ ተነባቢ ጋዜጣ ''አፍተን ፖስተን'' ''ትውልደ ኢትዮጵያዊው ኖርዌጃዊ ከደቡብ ሱዳን ወደ ኢትዮጵያ ካለፈቃዱ ተወሰደ''  በሚል አርዕስት ስር ባስነበበው ዘገባ  ስር ጋዜጣው ዜናውን ሲቀጥል '' የሰብአዊ መብት አክቲቪስት'' በማለት የጠራቸውን አቶ ኦከሎ ኦቻላ  በደቡብ ሱዳን መንግስት ባለስልጣኖች አጋዥነት  ወደ ኢትዮጵያ ተወስደው እንዲታሰሩ መደረጋቸውን እና ኖርዌይ ጉዳዩን አዲስ አበባ በሚገኘው ኢምባሲዋ እየተከታተለች መሆኗን ጋዜጣው ያብራራል።

ሚስተር ስቫየን ሚቸልሰን የኖርዌይ የውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስትር የኮምንኬሽን ጉዳዮች አማካሪ ስለ ጉዳዩ የሚከተለውን ብለዋል ''He confirmed that Aquai (ኦኬሎ) is a Norwegian citizen and that UD is familiar with the matter . The Norwegian Embassy in Addis Ababa now assisting Aquai''

''Han bekrefter at Aquai er norsk statsborger og at UD er kjent med saken. Den norske ambassaden i Addis Abeba bistår nå Aquai, opplyser Michelsen, som ikke ønsker å si noe mer om saken.''

'' ኦኮሌ የኖርዌይ ዜግነት ያለው ግለሰብ ነው።የኖርዌይ የስደተኞች ጉዳይ ቢሮ (UD) የእርሱን ጉዳይ በሚገባ ያውቀዋል።አዲስ አበባ የሚገኘው የኖርዌይ ኤምባሲ ለኦኬሎ ድጋፍ እያደረገ ነው''  ሲሉ  ባጭሩ ማብራራታቸውን ጋዜጣው ያትታል።

በመጨረሻም ጋዜጣው ኦኬሎ በሰብአዊ መብት ጥሰት በደረሰባት ጋምቤላ በነበረው ችግር መሰደዳቸውን ገልጦ የደቡብ ሱዳን የፀጥታ ኃይሎች ግለሰቡን ከደቡብ ሱዳን እና ዑጋንዳ ድንበር መካከል መወሰዳቸውን ያብራራል።

ጉዳዩን  እዚህ ኖርዌይ ውስጥ የተመለከቱ ተንታኞች ኢህአዲግ/ወያኔን ''ድንበር ተሻጋሪ አሸባሪ'' ለመሆኑ  በቂ ማስረጃ  መሆኑን ይስማማሉ።
በእርግጥም ነገሩን ስናጤነውም ኖርዌይ በጋምቤላ ጉዳይ የመግባት እድሏን በሰፊው የሚከፍትላት ከመሆኑም በላይ ዜጋዋን በነፃ በማስለቀቁ ሂደት ላይ ከኢህአዲግ/ወያኔ ጋር ያለውን ዲፕሎማሲያዊ ግንኙነት በፍጥነት ሊያሽቆለቁል  እንደሚችል ብዙዎች ያምናሉ።
ኢህአዲግ/ወይኔ እጅግ ከሚፈራቸው እና  ''ስስ ብልቶቹ'' ተብለው ከሚጠቀሱት ጉዳዮች አንዱ የጋምቤላው እልቂት ሳብያ በአለም አቀፍ ፍርድ ቤት የመከሰስ እድሉ ሰፊ የመሆኑ እውነታ መሆኑ ይታወቃል።

ጉዳያችን
መጋቢት 26/2006 ዓም
ኦስሎ፣ኖርዌይ

የ ''አፍተን ፖስተን'' ጋዜጣ ከጉዳዩ ጋር በተያያዘ ያወጣውን ዘገባ ዕትም ከእዚህ በታች ይመልከቱ

የኤርትራ መንግስት ከእኛ ጋር ለመታረቅ ከፈለገ ከጉያችን ያሉ የኤርትራ ተቃዋሚዎች ምን ይሆናሉ ብለን አንሰጋም ሲሉ አንድ የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት መንግስት ከፍተኛ ባለስልጣን ተናገሩ

መጋቢት ፳፫ (ሃያ ሦስት) ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-በውጭ ጉዳይ ሚንስቴር የፐብሊክ ዲፕሎማሲና ኮሚኒኬሽን ዳይሬክቶሬት ጄኔራል አቶ ጌታቸው አረዳ እንደተናገሩት ” የኤርትራ መንግስት ሃሳቡን ቀይሮ ወደ ሰላም ቢመጣ የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት ችግር የለበትም። የኤርትራ ተቃዋሚዎች ከጉያችን ስላሉ ምን እንሆናለን የሚል ስጋት የለብንም” በማለት ተናግረዋል።
የታጠቁ የኤርትራ ሃይሎች እርምጃ የማይወስዱት በድንበር አካባቢ የኤርትራ ሰራዊት በብዛት ስላለ መሆኑን የገለጹት ጄኔራል ዳይሬክተሩ፣ የኤርትራ መንግስት ከእኛ ጋር ለመስማማት ከፈለገ ምንም ቂምና ቁርሾ የምንይዝበት ነገር አይኖርም ሲሉ አክለዋል።
ኢትዮጵያ 20 ሺ ኤርትራውያን ስደተኞችን ታስተምራለች የተባለውም የተጋነነና ቁጥሩ ከ1800 እንደማይበልጥ የተናገሩት አቶ ጌታቸው፣ እነዚህ ተማሪዎች የጸጥታ ስጋት እንደማይሆኑና አስፈላጊው ምርመራ ተካሂዶባቸው ትምህርት እንደጀመሩ ገልጸዋል።
ከኤርትራ ስደተኞች ይልቅ የጸጥታ ስጋት የሚፈጥረው የኢትዮጵያ ተስፋ የቆረጠው ወጣት ነው ያሉት አቶ ጌታቸው፣ ይህን ወጣት መከታተል የጸጥታ ችግሮችንእንደሚቀርፍ ገልጸዋል።
በንግግራቸው መሃል ደግሞ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ባይከብርም የመክፈር ፍላጎት እንዲኖረው በማድረጋችን ጸጥአየትኩረት አቅጣጫውን ለማስቀየር ችለናል ብለዋል።
የጅቡቲ ወደብን በተመለከተ ለቀረበላቸው ጥያቄ ሲመልሱ ደግሞ፣ ለጅቡቲ ወደብ የምንከፍለውን ኪራይ የጅቡቲ መሪዎች ቤተሰቦች የሚቀራመቱት በመሆኑ አገሪቱ ወደብ ትከለክለናለች ብለን አንሰጋም ሲሉ መልሰዋል።

Why Europeans should care about Ethiopia’s repression of journalists

April 1, 2014

by Alison Bethel McKenzie

With European elections looming and a host of crises here at home dominating the political debate, there is the risk that challenges abroad – including Ethiopia’s disturbing treatment of journalists – will be swept under the carpet. It is vitally important that the current Parliament and Commission not let that happen as their mandates wind down, writes Alison Bethel McKenzie.

When nominations for the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought were announced last autumn, it was heartening to see that two imprisoned journalists in one of Africa’s most oppressed countries had made the list with the support of more than 40 lawmakers.

Although the award ultimately went to the Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai, the nomination of Ethiopian journalists Reeyot Alemu and Eskinder Nega marked important recognition of the appalling conditions that these brave people have faced since they were convicted on terrorism charges in 2011.

Yet today, there seems to be no end to the Ethiopian government’s assault on independent journalism. In February, an Addis Ababa court sentenced Somali journalist Mohamed Aweys Mudey to 27 years in prison for allegedly having information about a Somali al-Shabab terrorist cell operating inside Ethiopia. Several colleagues of Alemu and Nega are already serving sentences under anti-terror law.

Two Swedish journalists know all too well the consequences of being a journalist in Ethiopia, Africa’s second largest country and a leading recipient of EU aid. In December 2011, reporter Martin Schibbye and photographer Johan Persson were sentenced to 11 years in prison for “rendering support to terrorism” by interviewing people in the conflict-prone Ogaden region. Luckily for them, concerted international campaigns and diplomatic pressure helped win their freedom a year later.

The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, or EPRDF, has always maintained a tight grip on the news media since taking power in 1991. Yet it strengthened its hand in 2009 by adopting the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation that gives virtually unchecked powers to the authorities to arrest and prosecute those they deem fall under an overly broad definition of terrorism.

Under the law, a journalist who interviews and reports on a suspected terrorist could be accused of distributing anti-government information. Eskinder Nega was convicted for allegedly supporting an “Arab Spring” in Ethiopia by writing about those who were inspired by democratic movements in North Africa. Reeyot Alemu, a school teacher by profession who spent her free time writing for a newspaper, was convicted for publishing a photo bearing the Amharic word bäqa (enough!) – a slogan for opposition groups.

The EPRDF has tried to weaken civil society groups as well. The Proclamation to Provide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies (CSP), also adopted in 2009, restricts the operations and financing of independent human rights and civil society organisations. Together, the anti-terror and CSP laws have a profound effect on the ability of watchdogs to monitor and critique government policies, as well as provide early warnings of troubles in this disaster-prone Horn of Africa nation.

The government has not shied from using the laws to bludgeon opposition figures and journalists. Dozens of journalists have fled the country, including Abiye Teklemariam and Mesfin Negash, two newspaper editors who were charged with plotting anti-government activities and sentenced in absentia. Wubset Taye, Yusuf Getachew and Solomon Kebede, the latter two who ran the Ye Muslimach Guday(Muslim Affairs) magazine that reported on Ethiopia’s large Islamic community, are serving sentences along with Alemu and Nega under the anti-terror law.

My colleagues and I at the International Press Institute (IPI) in Vienna and from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) in Paris were barred from seeing these journalists at the Kaliti prison – a notoriously crowded detention facility that has housed many prisoners of conscience – when we visited Addis Ababa in early November. Colleagues and lawyers for the families told us that the state prison administration routinely deny visitors the right to see prisoners. In the case of Reeyot Alemu, who has been treated for breast cancer, this has restricted her access to outside medical help.

Why should Europeans care – and why should European leaders do more than propose prizes for Ethiopia’s terrified journalists, no matter how well meaning these honours?

Because Europe has a major investment in the wellbeing of Ethiopia and its people. The country is the fifth largest recipient of development aid from EU donors, amounting to a record 690 million euros in 2011 and 557 million euros in 2012, figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development show. Ethiopia is also one of the main recipients of EU humanitarian aid, with the European Commission alone providing 130 million euros over the past three years to help support millions of Ethiopians and refugees from regional conflict areas in need of basic food, water and health assistance.

It would be foolish to suggest that Ethiopia’s needy should be denied aid because of the notorious policies of their rulers. But that does not absolve the EU from using its influence to pressure the EPRDF élite, which has traditionally enjoyed a chummy relationship with western leaders.

The EU is committed through its three-year-old Agenda for Change development policy to foster democratic governance in Ethiopia and other aid recipients. The 2013 “Joint Co-operation Strategy” aimed at fostering a stable and democratic Ethiopia acknowledges that “fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of association and expression, face increasing restrictions”, but those who dole out money in Brussels and the 28 EU capitals have shown little outward sign of pressuring the prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, to reform laws that inhibit fundamental rights.

With European elections looming and a host of crises here at home dominating the political debate, there is the risk that challenges abroad – including Ethiopia’s disturbing treatment of journalists – will be swept under the carpet. It is vitally important that the current Parliament and Commission not let that happen as their mandates wind down.

Their successors, moreover, will need to insist that the EPRDF reform if it is to be a worthy partner of Europe. The EU should be prepared to get tough, through travel and economic sanctions on senior party officials if they fail to pardon the journalists and other prisoners of conscience – and begin the process of revamping their anti-terror and civil society laws to allow for legitimate dissent and independent news reporting.

European citizens who every year provide millions of euros in aid and support to Ethiopia deserve no less. So do the imprisoned journalists, and their many colleagues who live in fear of ending up like Reeyot Alemu and Eskinder Nega.