Ethiopia: Debates to be held on controversial anti-terrorism law

Graphics by Awramba Times Newspaper (September 2011)

The state-run Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency (ERTA) announced to organize debates on the nation’s deeply flawed anti-terrorism law.

Human Rights Watch, Amnestry International and other right groups have repeatedly raised concerns about the anti-terrorism law’s overly broad definition of “terrorist acts.” The law’s provisions on support for terrorism contain a vague prohibition on “moral support” under which Politicians and journalists have been convicted.

The proclamation states that “whosoever writes, edits, prints, publishes, publicizes, disseminates, shows, makes to be heard any promotional statements encouraging, supporting or advancing terrorist acts stipulated under this Proclamation is punishable with rigorous imprisonment.

However, legal analysts who have a strong knowledge on Ethiopia’s jurisprudence argue that such provisions would violate the right to freedom of expression under the constitution which is the supreme law of the nation. Click here to read in Amharic language the ERTA’s letter and UDJ’s response