Ethiopian newspaper reports tampering of its mail

Ethiopian newspaper reports tampering
of its mail

29 June, 2010 | CPJ
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New York, June

29, 2010—

Ethiopia’s postal

service should

conduct

thorough

and transparent

investigation into

the tampering of

mail addressed to

the country’s

leading critical

newspaper, the

Committee to

Protect Journalists

said today.

Awramba Times Editor-in-Chief Dawit Kebede said the paper
has complained to the Ethiopian Postal Service at least three times
since June 6 after finding opened and destroyed envelopes in its
mailbox inside Teklay Posta Bet, the national postal headquarters
in the capital, Addis Ababa.

The Amharic-language weekly quoted local postal manager
Bezabih Asfaw as saying that the “quality of the paper” of the
envelopes may be to blame for the tearing.

The Awramba Times has been harassed for its critical coverage
of the government, with the government-controlled media airing
programs in December 2009 that lambasted the paper, according
to news reports.

“The tampering of Awramba Times’ mail potentially impacts
sources and readers,” said CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator
Mohamed Keita. “Mail tampering is a criminal offense and we call
on the Ethiopian Postal Service to take these reports seriously by
conducting a thorough investigation and ensuring that all of the
newspaper’s mail arrives intact and undisturbed.”

Asfaw told CPJ today that he is “unaware of this problem.” He
said he would look into the reports, but said “this did not happen
in the post office.” Under Ethiopia’s penal code, “violation of the
privacy of correspondence or consignments” is punishable by up
to six months in prison, according to CPJ research.

Courtesy