2012 PEN/Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award Winner Eskinder Nega to be Released After More Than Six Years in Prison in Ethiopia
“We are overjoyed at news that Eskinder has been pardoned and is to be freed to reunite with his family and return to his writing. We hope that his release is immediate… More
Martha Kumsa | Status: Released | Ethiopia
Ethiopian writer and journalist Martha Kumsa was released from prison after several years of detention without charge or trial a few months after she received the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom… More
Zone 9 Bloggers | Status: Released | Ethiopia
The Ethiopian Supreme Court on April 6, 2017, levied criminal charges against two Zone 9 bloggers, Atnaf Berhane and Natnail Feleke, three years after they were first arrested in April… More
ETHIOPIA: Zone 9 Bloggers Acquitted on Charges of Terrorism
PEN American Center welcomes the Ethiopian court's decision today to acquit four of the Zone 9 bloggers on terrorism charges. The acquittal is a positive move in a landmark… More
Five ‘Zone 9’ Bloggers and Journalists Released in Ethiopia
The release from prison of five of the Zone 9 bloggers and four journalists in Ethiopia ahead of President Obama’s visit this month is a step in the right… More
Welcome to Zone 9: Ethiopia
Kality is divided into eight zones. The prisoners found one more zone of their own imagination. They called the rest of the country beyond their compound “zone 9” implying… More
Take Action for Imprisoned Journalists Reeyot Alemu and Eskinder Nega
PEN protests the continuing imprisonment of journalists Reeyot Alemu and Eskinder Nega, held in Kality prison since 2011 under Ethiopia’s Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. More
Letter from Ethiopia’s Gulag
I am jailed, with around 200 other inmates, in a wide hall that looks like a warehouse. For all of us, there are only three toilets. More
Eskinder Nega’s 18-Year Sentence Upheld
PEN International protests in the strongest possible terms the Ethiopian Supreme Court’s May 2, 2013 decision to uphold Eskinder Nega’s conviction on highly dubious terrorism-related charges and his 18-year… More
Swedish Journalists Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson Released
PEN International welcomes the release on September 11, 2012, of Swedish journalists Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson. Schibbye and Persson had been in the Ethiopian prison system since July… More