Call on the ethiopian government to immediately free all journalists convicted under. Pdf this article examines the current internet content regulatory regime in ethiopia from the. While legitimate anti terrorism laws have been enacted in a number of countries, these critics of. Antiterrorism proclamation, federal negarit gazeta, proclamation no. Time to repeal antiterrorism law in ethiopia inter. Proclamation on anti terrorism, published in the federal negarit gazeta of the federal republic of ethiopia on 28 august 2009 proclamation against international standards on freedom of expression. The 2009 antiterrorism proclamation gave new powers to the. Pdf some points on the ethiopian antiterrorism law from human.
The conformity of ethiopian anti terrorism proclamation with. The council of ministers in its 68th regular session held on may 18, 2019, approved the anti terrorism draft law developed to prevent and control terrorism. The most recent basis for punishment of journalists and media are the anti terrorism proclamation, the freedom of the mass media and access to information proclamation no. Comment on ethiopian antiterrorism proclamation article 19, london. As a living victim of misuse of the anti terrorism proclamation atp in ethiopia, i face a heartbreaking judgement oftentimes from ordinary citizens who knew that i was once charged of the atp. This violence in the name of delivering economic growth is built on the 2009 anti terrorism proclamation, which has allowed the ethiopian government secure complete hegemonic authority by suppressing any form of dissent. Refworld is the leading source of information necessary for taking quality decisions on refugee status. An examination of ethiopias anti terrorism proclamation. The impact of ethiopia s antiterrorism law on freedom of expression conference paper pdf available in ssrn electronic journal may 2017 with 4,203 reads how we measure reads. In the course of deliberations over the law, some members of the ethiopian parliament, as well as human rights organizations, journalists. These proclamations have been criticized for contravening the constitution and the international human rights conventions that ethiopia had ratified.
On wednesday 17 july 20, members of the european parliament s subcommittee on human rights visited ethiopia and urged the government to release journalists and opposition activists imprisoned under the countrys antiterrorism proclamation no. See article 19, comment on antiterrorism proclamation, 2009, of ethiopia. A new discourse hailing security and stability as fundamental ingredients. The report examines how the law, enacted in 2009, is a tool of repression, designed and used by the ethiopian government to silence its critics. On december 21 the ethiopian federal high court convicted two swedish journalists on charges of support to. Ethiopias highly controversial antiterrorism law, proclamation no. The draft law has been submitted to parliament by the council of ministers and may be passed into law before.
Refworld contains a vast collection of reports relating to situations in countries of origin, policy documents and positions, and documents relating to international and national legal frameworks. Initiatives such as the anti terrorism proclamation, 37 and the telecom fraud offences proclamation, 38 drafted by the information network security agency insa, ethiopia s equivalent the us national security agency nsa, emerged as central components of this process. This paper analyses ethiopias draft antiterrorism proclamation the draft proclamation and assesses to what extent the proposed law on its face conforms to international human rights standards. Instead, yonatan tesfaye, a former spokesman of the semayawi blue party, was detained in december 2015 on charges under article 4 of ethiopia s anti terrorism proclamation.
Part one general part two terrorism and related crimes part three preventive and investigative measures part four evidentiary and procedural rules part five measures to control terrorist organizations and property part six institutions that. It criminalizes indirect encouragement to the preparation, instigation and. How much do you know about misuse of ethiopias anti. Ethiopia s highly controversial anti terrorism law, proclamation no.
Analysis of ethiopias draft antiterrorism law human. The new law was drafted by the federal attorney general office of ethiopia to protect the peace and security of the people and the government from the threats of terrorism. Analysis of ethiopias draft antiterrorism proclamation. A tool to stifle dissent, authored by lawyers from leading international law firms, provides an indepth and damning analysis of ethiopias antiterrorism proclamation.
Ethiopian government in regulating internet content. Ethiopian anti terrorism law, financing of terrorism, money laundering, terrorism. This paper analyses ethiopia s draft anti terrorism proclamation the draft proclamation and assesses to what extent the proposed law on its face conforms to international human rights standards. Some points on the ethiopian antiterrorism law from human rights. They say, you must have been involved in something that got you suspected of terrorism. Instead, the regulatory pattern that has emerged in the last decade, and recently. This practice raises serious concerns about the extent to which ethiopians can rely upon their constitutionally guaranteed rights to afford the protection that is a fundamental element of a democratic society. Article 19 comments on anti terrorism proclamation article 19 today issues its analysis of the ethiopian anti terrorism proclamation 2009 and calls for the government to fully recognise the right to freedom of expression under international and regional human rights law. Mahlet fasil addis abeba, march 62017 as fresh terrorism charges against several individuals surge following the yearlong public protests that led to the current state of emergency, prosecutors in ethiopia have today charged a group of 76 individuals with various articles of ethiopia s infamous anti terrorism proclamation atp. Freedom of expression and the ethiopian antiterrorism. The ethiopian government has used the antiterrorism proclamation to jail journalists and opposition party members for peacefully exercising their freedoms of expression and association. Ethiopia introduced competition laws in 2003, but its first laws, and particularly its merger regulations, were inadequate and obsolete.
From march 2011 to december 2011 at least 108 opposition party members and six journalists were arrested in ethiopia for alleged involvement with various proscribed terrorist groups. This article is the right of thought, opinion and expression. The anti terrorism proclamation of ethiopia has a farreaching effect on human rights, such as freedom of expression. The law gives leeway to criminalize innocent acts of individuals who are critical of government policies. Ethiopias antiterrorism proclamation and the right to. Proclamation on anti terrorism, no 652 of 2009, article 5e bw. What influence has ethiopias antiterrorism proclamation got on the right to. Council of ministers approves antiterrorism law embassy. The provisions of this law that impact freedom of expression are discussed in this article. The law drew international condemnation for granting the government.
Old ethiopian newspapers berhanena selam proclamation no. Draft investment proclamation ethiopia draft excise proclamation ethiopia draft state enterprises proclamation ethiopia volume 23 cassation decisions prosperity party program. The detainees had been charged with crimes under the anti terrorism proclamation and the criminal code. Anti corruption special procedure nnd rules of evidence amendment proclamation no. Ethiopia s current government, led by prime minister meles zenawi, continues on a course of oppressing. However, the 2009 anti terrorism proclamation, and the proclamation that established the ethiopian broadcast authority, the authority that regulates the media in general. Wazema radio, mapping the ethiopian media, may 2018. The proclamation was adopted on 7 july 2009 and came into force upon its publication in the federal negarit gazeta of the federal democratic republic of ethiopia official gazette 15th year no. Definitions in this proclamation, unless the context otherwise requires. The proclamation was adopted on 7 july 2009 and came into force upon its publication in the federal negarit gazeta of the federal. The provisions of ethiopias draft antiterrorism proclamation can be broadly grouped under the following categories. This regulation is issued by the council of ministers pursuant to article 34 of the definition of powers and duties of the executive organs of the federal democratic republic of ethiopia proclamation no. Pdf the purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the oau convention in preventing and combating terrorism africa. Ethiopian legal information portal find laws, cases.
Wazema radio is an online radio founded by exiled ethiopian journalists in 2014. Pdf examining approaches to internet regulation in ethiopia. Whereas, money laundering and the financing of terrorism as it not only threaten security, but also compromise the stability, transparency, soundness and efficiency of the financial system. Since 2008, the government of ethiopia has implemented a proselytization project aimed at establishing ahbash as the one statesanctioned sect of islam. Request pdf unchecked powers of the ethiopian national intelligence. This proclamation may be cited as the anti terrorism proclamation no. The information has been carefully selected and compiled from unhcrs global network of field. Unchecked powers of the ethiopian national intelligence and. The use of ethiopia s anti terrorism proclamation to arbitrarily arrest journalists is completely out of step with reforms witnessed in the country, said seif magango, amnesty internationals deputy director for east africa, the horn and the great lakes. Amepdments the revised anti corruption special procedure and rules of evidence proclamation no. The australian anti terrorism law, one of the legislation said to have been used as a basis for the ethiopian anti terrorism proclamation. The full text of the anti terrorism proclamation no. Turning back to the major legal issue regarding the contracts of loan, proclamation 83 1994. Terrorism by anti terrorism law lately, meles zenawi, the dictator in ethiopia, has been rounding up dissidents, journalists, opposition party political leaders and members under a diktat known as antiterrorism proclamation no.
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