Ethiopian Bloggers, Journos Court Case Adjourned; Two More Detained At The Scene

May 7/2014

Journalist Tesfalem Waldeyes and Blogger Zelalem Kibret escored by armed police in Court today (picture Courtesy of Twitter updates)

The closed trail of three of the six detained members of the bloggers’ collective, Zone 9 and three other journalists that was held today  in the Arada First Instance Court First Bench , Addis Abeba, has been adjourned to May 17, 2014 according to sources who were in the court premises. The three bloggers that appeared before the court today were Atnaf Berahane, Natnael Feleke, Zelalem Kiberet, and 3 journalists; Edom Kassaye, Tesfalem Weldeyes and Asmamaw Hailegorgis. The remaining bloggers; Befekadu Hailu, Mahlet Fantahun and Abel Wabella are expected to appear before the court tomorrow.

Although none of the detainees have officially been charged yet, sources indicated that according to the defendants’ lawyer police is accusing the detainees of “receiving finance & materials from foreign sources, links with terrorism designated Diaspora based groups” and thus asked for more time to conduct investigation as there are “still few others yet at large and are suspected of having links with the detainees”.

According to online updates and witness statements, the detainees looked “frail and tortured” while others felt they looked “strong and full of hope”. Some had waved and smiled to families and friends.

Meanwhile, twitter updates by those that attended the court proceedings show that two more people have been detained outside the Court premises today. Kiya Tsegaye, a lawyer by profession and contributor to print outlets in Addis Abeba was detained at the scene for what witnesses believed  ”taking the photographs of the detainees”. Similarly,  Solomon Seyoum, an editor at Finote Netsanet, the voice of the opposition Party Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), was also arrested by the police.

The male prisoners were handcuffed and were escorted in and out of the court by a number of armed federal police officers.

Follow the #Freezone9bloggers hashtag on Twitter for more updates and reports on the issue.