Ethiopia: Wife of jailed journalist urge international community call for his release

Bezawit Hailegiorgis

ESAT News (February 27, 2017)

The wife of a blogger and journalist detained in Ethiopia has called on the international community to pressure local authorities to release her husband.

The wife of Anania Sorri, Bezawit Hailegiorgis, told the Guardian that his sole crime had been “to express his thoughts honestly”.

Anania is among tens of thousands of people arrested under the country’s state of emergency declared in october 2016. He is being held in a high security prison in the Ethiopian capital and has not yet been formally charged with any offence.

“His crime is his determination to speak out. He is a brilliant political journalist. He was critical but always constructive … but being imprisoned is part of the job description of being a journalist here. It’s a zero-sum game, where someone has to lose, and at the moment they are not losing,” she told the Guardian.

“Anywhere else he would win prizes and acclaim. He was not a criminal, not involved in politics, and not violent. Here, he goes to jail,” she said.

“The international community is not doing anything at all. It’s a bizarre thing. It’s just lip service, just words. They say they are ‘highly concerned’ or ‘concerned’ but then … nothing,” said Hailegiorgis.