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From: World Association of Newspapers (WAN) to The Right Honourable Meles Zenawi Prime Minister of Ethiopia

Dear Prime Minister, We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications in 100 countries, to express our serious concern at the jailing of journalist Merid Estifanos.

According to reports, on 2 April a federal court in Addis Ababa jailed Mr Estifanos, former editor-in-chief of the private, Amharic-language weekly Satanaw, after he was unable to pay bail in a criminal defamation case.

The defamation charge stemmed from a September 2001 opinion piece entitled "The Hidden Agenda of Prime Minister Meles", which accused you of supporting the government of Eritrea and alleging that Eritrea had defeated Ethiopia during the two-year border war ending in 2000.

Following the article's publication, Mr Estifanos was charged with defamation and ordered to pay bail of 1,000 birr (US$120) while awaiting trial. Mr Estifanos could face more time in prison if he is convicted of the offence.

At the 2 April hearing, the court reportedly imposed an additional bail of 3,000 birr on Mr Estifanos for failing to attend a previous bail hearing.

When Mr Estifanos was unable to pay this amount, the court ordered that he be transferred to prison.

One other journalist remains in prison in Ethiopia. Tewodros Kassa was sentenced to two years' imprisonment in July 2002, on charges of defamation and "disseminating false information that could incite people to political violence".

We respectfully remind you that Mr Estifanos should not be jailed for reasons relating to his exercising the right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by numerous international conventions, including Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Furthermore, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights considers that "detention, as punishment for the peaceful expression of an opinion, is one of the most reprehensible ways to enjoin silence and, as a consequence, a grave violation of human rights".

We also remind you that bail demands should at all times be reasonable and not used as a means of imprisoning someone who has not been convicted.

We respectfully call on you to do everything possible to ensure that Mr Estifanos is immediately released from prison and that all charges against him are dropped. We also ask that you take all necessary steps to ensure that the offence of defamation is decriminalised and replaced by a civil award of reasonable damages.

We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

Seok Hyun Hong, President, World Association of Newspapers

Gloria Brown Anderson, President, World Editors Forum

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