VZCZCXRO6234
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHDS #2162/01 2210831
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 080831Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1588
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADDIS ABABA 002162 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KPAO ET
SUBJECT: PRESS FREEDOM: CONTEMPT FOR REPORTING 
 
REF: ADDIS ABABA 2143 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  On August 6, the Ethiopian Federal High Court found 
Million Assefa (defense attorney for pop singer Teddy Afro) and 
Mesfin Negash (editor-in-chief of popular newspaper Addis Neger) 
guilty of contempt.  The court ruled that a recent Addis Neger 
article, which quoted Million criticizing the court and intending to 
request a disciplinary review of the court's conduct in the Afro 
trial, was prejudicial.  The court sentenced Mr. Million to 
one-month and twenty days imprisonment and gave Mr. Mesfin a 
one-month suspended sentence. According to a prominent attorney with 
whom we spoke, the judge appears to have overreached his authority 
in citing Mesfin for contempt.  However, there are few checks on a 
judge's ability to interpret and apply the law.  If the matter is 
not successfully appealed, the effect will be to chill watch-dog 
activities and future press coverage of judges' actions.  The 
Embassy will continue to follow developments in this case closely 
and may seek senior level consultations if the courts continue to 
expand aggressively judicial authority.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Background: The Afro Trial 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Defense attorney and Vice President of the Ethiopian Bar 
Association, Million Assefa, represents pop singer Teddy Afro in an 
ongoing high profile hit-and-run case before Judge Luel Gebremariam 
of the Ethiopian Federal High Court.  At a recent hearing, Million 
accused Judge Gebremariam of judicial misconduct and later informed 
an Addis Neger journalist, on the record, of his intention to seek 
formal review of Gebremariam's conduct.  Addis Neger Editor-in-Chief 
Mesfin Negash ran a July 26 article that reported Million's 
statements to the Addis Neger journalist accurately, based on a tape 
recording of the conversation between Million and the journalist. 
Addis Neger, a privately-owned Amharic-language weekly is Ethiopia's 
second largest newspaper by circulation (30,000) and is rising 
rapidly in popularity.  Although the editors of Addis Neger say they 
aim to be moderate and balanced, the paper is generally critical of 
the ruling EPRDF party and perceived by the public as 
pro-opposition. 
 
Guilty of Contempt 
------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) On August 4, Mesfin and Million were ordered to appear 
briefly before Judge Gebremariam.  Following a brief hearing, they 
were detained and spent the night in jail.  The next morning, after 
many delays, both were officially charged with contempt in a 25 
minute hearing. In defense, Million's attorney argued that 1) an 
attorney appearing before the court has the right to request a 
review of the judge's conduct and 2) Million gave the Addis Neger 
interview outside of court, so it should not be seen as intimidating 
the judge or contempt.  Million confirmed Addis Neger reported his 
comments accurately.  Mesfin barely spoke.  The judge conceded that 
a disciplinary review filing was legal and that attorneys have some 
rights to expression, but said that Million's defamatory comments, 
and Mesfin's subsequent printing of them, related to a pending 
matter (Afro's trial) and were thus prejudicial.  The judge denied 
bail and recessed until the following day. 
 
¶4. (U) On August 5, the judge opened by finding both defendants 
guilty of contempt.  He listed and then rebuked Million's 
accusations of judicial misconduct, noting that Million would likely 
lose his appeal.  He said Million's accusations were both 
substantively wrong and procedurally inappropriate (i.e. 
prejudicial).  Million's seven defense lawyers argued for sentencing 
leniency; Mesfin read a short leniency plea of his own. The judge 
sentenced Million to one-month and twenty days imprisonment and gave 
Mesfin a one-month suspended sentence effective for two years. 
Addis Neger intends to appeal the ruling.  The New York-based 
Committee for the Protection of Journalists criticized the case as 
"criminalizing independent reporting." 
 
¶5. (SBU) COMMENT: The contempt hearing focused heavily on rebuking 
Million's criticisms and conduct, not on Mesfin's acts.  This may 
indicate the judge wished to defend his conduct while targeting 
Million for sullying his conduct publicly (they have purported 
tensions), making Mesfin and Addis Neger only collateral damage. 
However, according to a prominent attorney with whom we spoke, the 
judge appears to have overreached his authority in citing Mesfin, 
who was not a party to the proceedings, for contempt.  Still, there 
are few checks on a judge's ability to interpret and apply the law. 
If the matter is not successfully appealed, the effect will be to 
chill watch-dog activities and future press coverage of judges' 
actions.  Moreover, by targeting the press indirectly, the court 
positioned itself to defend against accusations that it seeks to 
curb freedom of expression, but also has laid a marker against a 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00002162  002 OF 002 
 
 
fast growing political newspaper that criticism of judges, even if 
accurately reported, will not be tolerated.  The result may not only 
chill the media's coverage of judicial processes, but also impact 
Addis Neger's political reporting broadly.  The Embassy will 
continue to follow developments in this case closely and may seek 
senior level consultations if the courts continue to expand 
aggressively judicial authority.  END COMMENT. 
 
MALAC