[9] HRW also reported that Temsgen worked as journalist for Feteh and Le’elina newspapers, and for the Addis Times Ethiopian magazine prior to his 2012 imprisonment.
However, the persecutor appealed to continue holding Temsgen to prevent “leaking secrets.” CPJ condemned his imprisonment and the abuse of the judicial system while calling on the government to drop the charges and stop criminalizing journalism.
[1] On 4 May 2012, Desalegn was found guilty of contempt of court after Feteh published the full text of a courtroom statement by independent journalist Eskinder Nega, who was on trial for terrorism charges.
The charges were in response to articles published in August 2011, February 2012, and March 2012, in which Feteh had reported on youth protests against the government.
The UK-based anti-censorship organization Article 19 issued a statement in support of Desalegn and called for the charges to be dropped.
[6] On 23 August, three days after the death of long-time prime minister Meles Zenawi, Desalegn was arrested on defamation charges as part of a general crackdown on government critics.
[24] According to the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), between 2008 and July 2011, the Ethiopian government filed 41 lawsuits against Desalegn.