Three writers walked free in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia today after spending 439 days behind bars on terrorism charges. Journalists Tesfalem Waldyes and Asmamaw Hailegiorgis and university philosophy professor Zelalem Kiberet, also a Global Voices translator, were arrested last April along with six other bloggers and journalists, most of whom worked with Ethiopia’s Zone9 blogging collective. All charges against the three men have been dropped.
Zelalem Kiberet at 25. Photo from Zelalem's blog.
Radio FANA, a media outlet known to support the ruling party, reported that authorities have also dropped charges against bloggers Mahlet Fantahun andEdom Kassaye and that both women will be released on July 9. Four of the bloggers remain behind bars and continue to face charges in a trial that has only barely begun in earnest. This group includes Befeqadu Hailu,Natnael Feleke, Atnaf Berahane andAbel Wabella. All four are Global Voices authors and translators.
Tesfalem told the Addis Standard that this morning he heard his name called over the loudspeaker system of Kilinto Prison, where the writers have been held for over a year. A prison official called the names of Zelalem and Asmamaw, stating that all charges against them had been dropped. They were released just hours later.
The #FreeZone9Bloggers hashtag lit up on Twitter shortly after the news was confirmed by friends who greeted the newly freed men at Kilinto Prison. Blena Sahilu, a close friend of the group, tweeted as she reunited with Tesfalem, her joy and disbelief palpable in her messages:
Source: globalvoicesonline
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