Ethiopia court finds Swedish journalists guilty of supporting terrorism

Ethiopia court finds Swedish journalists guilty of supporting terrorism

2011-12-22 15:17:40 GMT+7 (ICT)

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (BNO NEWS) -- An Ethiopian court on Wednesday convicted two Swedish journalists of supporting terrorism after they attempted to meet a group which has been declared a terrorist organization, officials said.

Ethiopian troops captured Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye in July during a clash with a rebel group in the Ogaden region near the border with Somalia. They entered the region illegally to meet with the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), which was declared a terrorist group by the Ethiopian government a month earlier.

The journalists, who face up to 18 years in prison, said they were on a journalistic mission following a story allegedly linking a Swedish company to controversial oil exploration in the area. Their next court appearance is scheduled for December 27, when they will be sentenced.

"Our starting point is and remains that they have been in the country on a journalistic mission," Swedish Prime Minister Frederick Reinfeldt said in a statement. "They should be freed as soon as possible and be able to rejoin their families in Sweden."

Reinfeldt added that they were examining the situation with the journalists and their families. "But we are already making high-level contact with the Ethiopian government in this matter," he said.

Human rights groups have also called for the journalists' immediate release, and the London-based group Amnesty International said the men were convicted on the basis of their legitimate journalistic work.

"Amnesty International believes there is no evidence that the men were supporting the objectives of the ONLF, or were guilty of any criminal wrongdoing. We believe that these men are prisoners of conscience, prosecuted because of their legitimate work," said Claire Beston, Amnesty International's Ethiopia researcher.

Access to the Ogaden region is severely restricted by the government of Ethiopia, which is listed as one of the worst countries in the world in regard to press freedom. According to Amnesty, there have been reports of serious human rights violations being committed by the Ethiopian government troops and allied militias in the area.

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