Ethiopia’s Eskinder Nega refuses to sign false confession in exchange for prison release

CPJ

New York, February 9, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Ethiopian government’s attempts today to compel Ethiopian journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega to sign a false confession before releasing him under a presidential pardon. Eskinder, who has spent almost seven years in jail for his work, was one of 746 prisoners due to be pardoned by President Mulatu Teshome on February 8, according to media reports.

“Through this deplorable behavior the Ethiopian government is undermining any goodwill it might have generated by releasing an innocent man from prison,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Angela Quintal. “Ethiopian authorities should immediately release Eskinder Nega without condition.”

At 11 a.m. local time, a prison official asked Eskinder to sign a form which falsely stated that he was a member of Ginbot 7, an organization that the government deems a terrorist group, Eskinder’s wife, Serkalem Fasil, told CPJ. Eskinder refused and asked to see a more senior official. That request was not granted and the journalist was returned to his cell, his wife said.

Eskinder is serving an 18-year sentence on vague terrorism charges, according to CPJ research. The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention condemned his 2012 trial and conviction and said it was connected to his “peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of expression.” The group found his arrest without warrant and prosecution was flawed, and the trial fell short of international standards of fairness.

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Prominent Ethiopian Prisoners Won’t Sign Pardon Letters

VOA – Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega and two prominent opposition figures have refused to sign letters of pardon from the government, holding up their planned release from prison.

Eskinder and opposition leaders Andualem Arage and Abebe Kesto — all critics of the government — are among 746 prisoners set for release following an announcement Thursday by Ethiopia’s attorney general.

But Eskinder’s wife, Serkalem Facil, has told VOA’s Horn of Africa Service that her husband declined to sign the letter of pardon because it states he was a member of Ginbot 7, a political organization banned in Ethiopia.

“Eskinder, Andualem and others were summoned by prison officers. They were asked to sign a form saying they are members of the Ginbot 7 movement as a precondition for their release,” Serkalem said. “Eskinder refused to sign the form, saying that he is not a member of the organization. So, I know there is no deal.”

Fantu Aragie, the sister of Andualem Arage, said her brother and Abebe Kesto also refused to sign the pardon letter.

“The three of them refused to ask the government for a pardon. In fact, they informed them that the government should ask them for a pardon,” she said.

All three men remained in prison Friday.

The majority of the prisoners set to be freed were arrested on charges of terrorism, inciting violence or religious extremism. Human rights groups say the arrests were, in fact, aimed at silencing opponents and critics of Ethiopia’s de facto one-party state.

The planned release and other recent prisoner releases are aimed at reducing tensions in the Horn of Africa country following a wave of anti-government protests in 2015 and 2016, mainly in the southern Oromia region, that sparked a nationwide state of emergency and a government crackdown.

The attorney general said 417 of those to be released are convicted prisoners, while another 329 are suspects still awaiting trial.

The prisoners are to be freed after undergoing rehabilitation training and receiving approval from Ethiopia’s president, Mulatu Teshome. Read more here