Darsema Sori (left) and Khalid Mohammed
ESAT News (December 22, 2016)
The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned on Wednesday the criminalization of reporting on issues of the Ethiopian Muslim community as an act of terrorism.
CPJ’s deputy executive director, Robert Mahoney, made the remark in connection with the conviction of Khalid Mohammed and Darsema Sori on terrorism charges by the kangaroo court of the TPLF regime.
“Reporting on the significant Muslim community in Ethiopia is not an act of terrorism but journalism,” said Mahoney. “The prosecution and persecution of Khalid Mohammed and Darsema Sori and other independent journalists like them should stop immediately.”
Khalid Mohammed and Darsema Sori, are producers of “Bilal” radio, which focuses on issues related to the Ethiopian Muslim community.
The trumped-up charge brought against the defendants two years ago alleged that the they were involved in illegally trying to get the release of imprisoned members of the Muslim Arbitration Committee and had allegedly plotted to carry out acts of terrorism. No evidence of such crime have been presented by the prosecutor, according to human rights groups.
Several members of the Muslim Arbitration Committee were put behind bars three years ago for demanding respect for religious rights and standing up against the meddling of the government in their religious affairs.
Khalid and Darsema are two of 16 journalists imprisoned in Ethiopia according to CPJ’s 2016 prison census, which found the country to be among the top five worst jailers of journalists worldwide. An intensifying crackdown against the media has seen the arrest of a number of journalists, including bloggers, in recent months, according to CPJ research.