Ethiopia: Ethiopia Supreme Court Orders Publishing Houses to Pay Country’s Highest Ever Fine, Say Publishers By Naomi Hunt, Press Freedom Adviser for Africa & the Middle East ‘They Want to Drive Us Out, but They Will not Succeed’
The Ethiopian Supreme Court today ruled against four independent media houses, forcing them to pay fines that were originally rendered void under a 2007 pardon. The four publishing companies, Serkalem, Sisay, Zekarias and Fasil, must now pay a total of 295,000 Birr (approx. €16,100) - more than the average Ethiopian would earn in a century, according to income figures from the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
Last year, the Ethiopian High Court ruled that a 2007 presidential amnesty to journalists and publishing houses also covered the fines. Journalists and press freedom groups welcomed the decision. But today, the Ethiopian Supreme Court overturned the previous ruling, ordering the four houses to pay fines ranging from 15,000 to 120,000 Birr (approx. €830 to €6,600) according to an emailed statement from Eskinder Nega and Serkalem Fasil, co-owners of the Serkalem publishing company. [ Read the rest... ]  | Posted by Webmaster on Wednesday 10 March 2010 - 18:40:55 |   |
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