EDITOR’S NOTE: This seems to be a drama orchestrated by Amare Aregawi’s own party, Woyanne. The company, Dashen Brewery, that sued Amare is owned by the ruling party, Woyanne. Even the car that transported him to Gondar is not a police car. He was taken bay a car owned by the company that sued him. But if any thing, this incident exposes how repressive the new press law is. Any individual or company can cause the arrest of a newspaper editor.
AFP — Ethiopian authorities Woyanne released a newspaper editor detained last week after it reported on a labour dispute at a local brewery, a media watchdog says.
Amare Aregawi was held for five days in a prison 750 kilometres north of Addis Ababa, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement.
He was released yesterday on bail of 300-birr (around 31-dollars).
RSF urged Ethiopian government to “amend the newly-adopted media law in order to eliminate prison sentences for press offences.”
Aregawi’s private Amharic language weekly Reporter published an article last month citing two former employees of the brewery as saying they were wrongfully dismissed.
The brewery company had sued the paper for libel.
Ethiopia was only removed from RSF’s blacklist of media offenders in May, having been labelled “an enemy of the internet” along with Zimbabwe.