(CPJ)- The small vanguard of independent media that emerged from a brutal 2005 crackdown struggled in the face of continuing government harassment. Although authorities issued licenses allowing a handful of independent political newspapers to operate, they continued to use imprisonment, threats, and legal and administrative restrictions to suppress coverage of sensitive issues.
In February, the government authorized the private, Amharic-language newsweeklies Awramba Times and Harambe, reversing an earlier decision to deny them licenses. The publishers, Dawit Kebede and Wosonseged Gebrekidan, were among a number of journalists pardoned in 2007 after spending 21 months in detention on trumped-up antistate charges. Authorities continued to deny licenses to three other former prisoners: award-winning publisher Serkalem Fasil; her husband, columnist Eskinder Nega; and publisher Sisay Agena. All three were acquitted of the same antistate charges in 2007. Click here for the rest of the report.
