Ethiopia: Judge Detains Editor Over Pop Singer Case

Posted to the web 5 August 2008 New York An Ethiopian judge overseeing the high-profile trial of an imprisoned pop singer jailed the editor of an independent weekly for contempt of court today. The contempt charge came after the weekly published an interview with the singer’s lawyer, according to local journalists. Mesfin Negash, editor-in-chief of the current affairs weekly Addis Neger, could be sentenced to as many as six months in prison because of a July 26 interview with Million Assefa, singer Tewodros Kassahun’s lawyer, according to local journalists. The newspaper quoted Assefa as saying that he would file a disciplinary action against High Court Judge Leul Gebremariam over alleged bias in his handling of the singer’s case, the journalists said. Kassahun, better known as Teddy Afro, has been behind bars since April,... [read full story]