New laws threaten free expression in Ethiopia

"Under the new law, previous restrictions against private media outlets, such as the detention of journalists suspected of infringement of the law, has been scrapped," a parliament statement said.

But opposition members say the law, passed on 1 July, still allows state prosecutors to invoke national security as grounds for impounding publishing materials prior to publication and distribution.

Opposition Parliamentarian, Temesgen Zewede told reporters, "Although censorship is abolished, such a right to impound press material before distribution is tantamount to censorship."

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, once considered a pioneer of democracy in Africa, had seen his reputation wane since post-election violence that killed 200 people in 2005. Journalists and opposition members viewed as sympathetic to the protesters were then arrested and charged with treason, and now formal political opposition has become nearly extinct in most of the country.

Courtesy of IFEX