The Government of Ethiopian has directed the confiscation of all copies of Feteh newspaper accused of publishing details of the health of ailing President Meles Zenawi.
Feteh is a privately owned weekly newspaper. It has been ordered to stop publishing stories on President Zenawi’s ill health saying it would jeopadise National security.
According to newspaper’s Chief Editor, the government confiscated the 30,000 copies for the last weekend’s edition.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has urged Ethiopian government to reverse its decision.
“Confiscation on Feteh’s latest issue illustrates the depth of repression in Ethiopia today, and authorities’ determination to suppress independent coverage of the prime minister,” CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes said.
Speculation over Zenawi’s health grew after he failed to attend the African Union Summit held in Addis Ababa last week for the first time since he came into power in 1991.
The Ethiopian government recently dismissed reports claiming that Zenawi was critically ill. Governement officials say he was on sick leave and will soon be returning to office.
According to CPJ, the paper had prepared articles citing reports from the BBC and the exiled opposition group, Ethiopian National Transitional Council.
However, the state owned printing company, Birhanena Selam, told Feteh early on Sunday morning that the government had ordered that week’s edition of the paper to be blocked.
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