The Board calls on the Ethiopian authorities to immediately release Eskinder Nega from Kaliti prison.  

Mr. Nega is currently serving an 18-year sentence on terrorism-related charges for having reported on the Arab Spring and suggesting that similar events could happen in Ethiopia, were its leaders to ignore calls for reform.

At least nine other journalists and six bloggers are also in jail in Ethiopia, all sentenced under anti-terrorism legislation.

Furthermore, more than 200 journalists were behind bars worldwide in 2013, the second highest number on record. Over half of those in jail are accused of “anti-state” crimes. The WAN-IFRA Board reiterates its position that no journalist should be imprisoned for his or her work and calls for the immediate release of all journalists worldwide.

The Board calls on all states to recognise the importance of a free and independent press and to respect the role of journalists in contributing to higher levels of transparency, accountability and good governance. The Board calls for an end to the abuse of anti-terrorism and national security legislation to jail journalists and for the press to be able to carry out its essential role unhindered.

The “Vienna Declaration on Terrorism, Media and the Law” issued in 2009 at a meeting that brought together journalists, state representatives and other experts to discuss anti-terrorism laws and their implications for the media, notes that:

“Policies and laws adopted with a view to combating terrorism should be consistent with international and constitutional standards, including guarantees of freedom of expression and of the media. In this regard, the notion of national security should not be abused to protect the government, powerful interests or particular ideologies, or to prevent the exposure of wrongdoing or incompetence.”