Zone 9

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The Zone 9 Collective (December 2012)

Zone 9 is an Ethiopian group of bloggers who have been running a government-critical blog in the Amharic language since May 2012 , which is particularly dedicated to the situation of human rights , legal security and local social change .

background

The Ethiopian Constitution of 1995 protects freedom of expression as a fundamental right . Nevertheless, the media in Ethiopia are still under state control. Because of this, communication over the Internet is also monitored by the government, which is made possible by the fact that no other Internet provider is permitted than the stately owned Ethio Telecom . There is also internet censorship in Ethiopia .

Self-image and development

The Kality Federal Prison in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa is divided into eight zones. Journalists, human rights activists and politically dissenters are detained in Zone 8. According to the bloggers, Zone 9 describes the place where all Ethiopians live, by which they mean the outermost ring of the Kality detention center. The first blog post was published on May 13, 2012. The bloggers then reported on what they saw as the most pressing social and economic issues in Ethiopia, which other domestic media have neglected. Just two weeks after it was first published, the blog was blocked by the Ethiopian authorities. Even so, the Zone 9 authors continued to write. Six months before her arrest, the blog was temporarily suspended in the face of significantly increased surveillance and harassment of its authors. On April 23, 2015, the bloggers announced their resumption of activity via social media. They were arrested two days later.

Arrested in 2014

On April 25th and 26th, 2014, six members of the group, together with three other journalists, were arrested by the Ethiopian federal and criminal police and charged with " acts of terrorism " in accordance with the very vague rubber paragraphs that were passed in 2009 and thus "anti-terrorism laws" that did not meet constitutional requirements. accused. This was preceded by a six-month break for the bloggers due to fear of reprisals and the announcement by the bloggers that after this time they would continue their reporting on the topics of human and civil rights as well as the situation of political prisoners in Ethiopia. These arrests sparked protests across Ethiopia and internationally in the press and online media. The charges also extended to "conspiracy" because they used encryption methods to protect their informants. It was also used that the arrested bloggers had received instructions in data security from the Tactical Technology Collectives ( Security in a Box ).

Human rights activities and citizen media

Just a few hours after the first arrests, Amnesty International issued a press release: "These arrests now seem nothing more than a terrifying rounding up of opposition and politically independent people," said Ethiopian spokeswoman Claire Beston. She added: "This is part of a long-running trend of arrests and harassment of human rights defenders, activists, journalists and politically dissenters in Ethiopia".

On the night following the arrests, Horn Affairs reported: “It was reported that the police were only able to produce arrest warrants for two of those arrested: In the case of Natnael Feleke, the arrest warrant was presented to the managers of his employer, the Construction and Business Bank Zelalem Kibret the Deputy Rector of the University of Ambo ”.

A few days later, Amnesty International condemned the arrests. Henry Maina, Amnesty's East Africa director, commented: “These charges demonstrate all the more Ethiopia's drift into total disregard for human rights. The fact that the bloggers and journalists were brought before the investigative court on a Sunday without legal representation shows the government's unconditional determination to enforce its baseless charges. "

Human Rights Watch also campaigned for the release of all nine bloggers and journalists. Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said: "The timing of the arrests, a few days before the US Secretary of State's state visit, speaks volumes about the violation of freedom of expression in Ethiopia."

The Electronic Frontier Foundation also spoke up: As if the personal intimidation wasn't enough. Researchers at the Citizen Lab uncovered evidence that the Ethiopian government has used surveillance software on the Internet, both from Munich-based FinFisher and Hacking Team from Milan. This software makes it possible to spy on opposition activists and journalists. In February 2014, EFF filed a lawsuit against the Ethiopian government because the computer of a US citizen residing in Washington DC was allegedly attacked with spy software in order to eavesdrop on his Skype calls and to spy on his research on Google.

“The Ethiopian authorities seem determined to dry up any independent source of information, be it print media or online publications. In this respect, local, regional and international advocates of press freedom have not been able to stop the persistent harassment, ”said Barbara Trionfi, who is responsible for press freedom at the International Press Institute. “In a joint action by European and US donors and partners, pressure must be exerted on Ethiopia to remedy these grievances and to induce Ethiopia's government representatives through political pressure to grant fundamental rights of freedom of information and expression guaranteed in their own constitution and international obligations respect, ”she added.

The association Gefangenes Wort, a student initiative of the Justus Liebig University, referred to an article in the Gießener Anzeiger from July 5, 2014: Young freethinkers could face the death penalty. The editorial team writes: The type of reporting beyond the state broadcasters should serve as an alternative source of information for all those who want a freer Ethiopia, in which, for example, homosexuality is no longer prohibited by law and where investments are finally made in a better social infrastructure.

The Global Voices bloggers called for a worldwide tweetathon for the release of the arrested Ethiopian journalists and bloggers on July 31, 2014 under the hashtag # FreeZone9Bloggers.

In August 2014, the Electronic Frontier Foundation hosted an edit-a-thon as part of their Wikipedia: Meetup / San Francisco 21 to edit or create Wikipedia articles about Zone 9. Almost twelve activists took part in order to give a wider public the opportunity to keep themselves informed about the fate of the bloggers.

The development policy website E + C Development and Cooperation spoke up in February 2015: The government is primarily targeting conventional media, but is increasingly targeting new technologies and social media. A new, politically engaged generation is growing up in Ethiopia, who conduct their debates on the Internet and promote the democratization of their country there. The bloggers from “Zone 9” represent this generation. You write about current topics that interest young Ethiopians. In April, seven members of the group were charged for their contributions under the Anti-Terrorism Act. You have been in prison for many months now. It is said that they were tortured. The chances of a fair trial for the Zone 9 bloggers are extremely slim.

Amnesty International takes a detailed look at Ethiopia in its 2015 report. On the subject of freedom of expression, arbitrary arrests and imprisonment, it says: The indictment found crimes such as the use of Security in a Box - a compilation of open source software and materials to support human rights defenders, especially those involved in a repressive one Working environment. Six members of the group said they were forced to sign a "confession". Three alleged torture at hearings before the examining magistrate, but the court did not investigate these allegations. The proceedings were still ongoing at the end of 2014.

In July 2015, Reporters Without Borders welcomed the release of journalists and bloggers from prison and demanded that four other bloggers arrested on the same terrorism charges must be released immediately. The organization continues: Ethiopia ranks 142nd out of 180 states on Reporters Without Borders' annual press freedom list.

Releases from prison in 2015

On July 8, 2015, three of the detainees were released, namely journalists Tesfalem Waldyes and Asmamaw Hailegiorgis and university professor of philosophy and blogger Zelalem Kiberet. Blogger Mahlet Fantahun and journalist Edom Kassaye were released on July 9, 2015. The authorities have dropped all charges against the two members of the Zone 9 blogger collective and the three journalists. The other four members of Zone 9 remained in prison. The charges against them were upheld.

Members

The six members of Zone 9, as well as the three journalists who were also arrested, are:

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://zone9ethio.blogspot.de/2012_05_01_archive.html first archived post
  2. ↑ Testimony of Befeqadu Hailu, from Kilinto prison, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia August 2014
  3. ↑ One year on, jailed Ethiopian bloggers are still awaiting trial. The Guardian. April 24, 2015.
  4. ↑ Protocol from an Ethiopian prison, statement by Befeqadu Hailu. Global Voices in German October 18, 2014.
  5. ↑ Ethiopia: Multiple arrests in major crackdown on government critics. Amnesty International. April 26, 2014.
  6. ↑ Amnesty Report 2010 Ethiopia . Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  7. ↑ BBCtrending: Jailed bloggers spark Ethiopia trend , BBC News. April 30, 2014. 
  8. ↑ Full Translation of Zone9ers Charge Sheet . August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2014. 
  9. ↑ Tactical Tech's and Front Line Defenders' statement on Zone 9 Bloggers . Archived from the original on November 6, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  10. ↑ Ethiopia: Multiple arrests in major crackdown on government critics | Amnesty International. In: www.amnesty.org. Retrieved July 31, 2015 .
  11. ↑ Update – 1 | Ethiopia detains online activists ~ Horn Affairs - English. In: Horn Affairs - English. Retrieved July 31, 2015 .
  12. ↑ Ethiopia: Zone 9 bloggers must be immediately and unconditionally… Article 19. In: www.article19.org. Retrieved July 31, 2015 .
  13. ↑ Ethiopia: Arrests Upstage Kerry Visit. Retrieved July 31, 2015 .
  14. ^ EFF Calls for Release of Ethiopian Dissident Bloggers. Retrieved July 31, 2015 .
  15. ↑ International Press Institute: International Press Institute: Ethiopia arrests journalists, bloggers. In: www.freemedia.at. Archived from the original on January 18, 2015 ; accessed on July 31, 2015 .
  16. ↑ Young freethinkers could face the death penalty. Giessen indicator. July 5, 2014. pdf.
  17. ↑ On July 31st, the world tweeted for Zone9 bloggers from Ethiopia . Global Voices in German. 29th July 2014.
  18. ↑ A Wikipedia edit a.thon for the Zone 9 bloggers, A Great Way to Raise Awareness . Electronic Frontier Foundation. 3rd October 2014.
  19. ↑ Ethiopia suppresses its civil society. Retrieved July 31, 2015 .
  20. ↑ Ethiopia | Amnesty International Germany. In: www.amnesty.de. Retrieved July 31, 2015 .
  21. ↑ Several journalists and bloggers released - Reporters Without Borders for Freedom of Information. Retrieved July 31, 2015 .
  22. ↑ Five Ethiopian journalists released from custody, but others remain behind bars. Global Voices in German . Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  23. ↑ Ethiopia detains Several bloggers and Journalists . April 26, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  24. ↑ Detainees' Profiles . Retrieved September 9, 2014.