Reeyot Alemu is an Ethiopian
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
who served a 5-year prison sentence following an unfair trial in which anti-terrorism laws were used to silence her writing.
She won the
UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize
The UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, created in 1997, honours a person, organization or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world, especially whe ...
in 2013.
Biography
Reeyot Alemu was born in 1980.
She was a high school teacher until 2000, when she started working as a columnist for several local newspapers including the independent weekly newspaper ''
Feteh
''Feteh'' is an Ethiopian independent weekly newspaper founded in 2008 by Temesgen Desalegn. The paper is known for its critical coverage of Dr. Abiy's government. Its name translates into English as "Justice".
According to the US-based Committ ...
''.
In 2010, she founded her own publishing house and became the editor in chief of her own monthly magazine called ''Change'', both of which were closed.
Her articles covered social and political affairs as well as poverty and gender issues.
In June 2011, she was arrested by Ethiopian authorities on charges of terrorism, for which she was convicted and sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment and a fine of 33,000
birrs (US$1,850).
In August 2012, an appeals court subsequently reduced the 14-year prison sentence to 5 years and dropped most of the terrorism charges against her. She was serving a five-year term at
Kaliti Prison
Kaliti Prison'' is a maximum security prison in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Commonly referred to as a gulag, it serves as the main prison of the country. It is 11 km south of central Addis Ababa, in Akaky Kaliti, the southernmost subcity of the ...
.
Reeyot was released on July 9, 2015 after serving four years.
Awards
In 2012, the
International Women's Media Foundation
The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), located in Washington, D.C., is an organization working internationally to elevate the status of women in the media. The IWMF has created programs to help women in the media develop practical so ...
(IWMF) bestowed a
Courage in Journalism Award
The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), located in Washington, D.C., is an organization working internationally to elevate the status of women in the media. The IWMF has created programs to help women in the media develop practical so ...
on her
in absentia
is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent".
may also refer to:
* Award in absentia
* Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body
* Election in absen ...
for her “refusal to self-censor in a place where that practice is standard, and her unwillingness to apologize for truth-telling, even though contrition could win her freedom.”
She has also won Hellman/Hammett press freedom prize.
In May 2013, she was awarded the
UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize
The UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, created in 1997, honours a person, organization or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world, especially whe ...
to honor her exceptional courage, resistance and commitment to freedom of expression.
See also
*
Andualem Aragie
Andualem Aragie ( am, አንዱዓለም አራጌ; born 4 November 1972) is an Ethiopian politician and activist who is the Deputy Leader of Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice (ECSJ), an opposition party formed after the merger of 7 smaller ...
*
Eskinder Nega
Eskinder Nega ( Ge'ez: እስክንድር ነጋ, born 7 November 1969) is an Ethiopian journalist, blogger and politician who has been jailed at least ten times by the Ethiopian government on convictions for treason and terrorism.
Early life
...
*
Daniel Bekele
Daniel Bekele (Amharic: ዳንኤል በቀለ; 17 February 1967) is an Ethiopian lawyer and human rights activist. He was detained from November 2005 to March 2008 for his complaints about the procedures of the 2005 Ethiopian general election. ...
*
Arena Tigray
Arena Tigray or Arena Tigray For Democracy and Sovereignty ( ti, ዓረና ትግራይ ንዲሞክራሲን ንሉኣላዊነትን) is an Ethiopian political party based in the Tigray Region and participating in the Medrek coalition federally ...
*
Bekele Gerba
Bekele Gerba (born 1961) is an Ethiopian politician and activist. He is a member of Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) which promotes political change by nonviolence. He was imprisoned from 2011 to 2015, 2015–2018 and again on 30 June 2020 foll ...
*
Habtamu Ayalew
*
Temesgen Desalegn
Temesgen Desalegn () is an Ethiopian journalist. As editor of the independent weekly newspaper ''Feteh'', Desalegn went to court many times and was imprisoned from 2014–2017 as a result of his criticism of the national government, drawing prot ...
*
List of detained journalists and activists in Ethiopia (2023)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reeyot Alemu
Living people
Human rights abuses in Ethiopia
Journalists imprisoned in Ethiopia
Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Ethiopia
Ethiopian journalists
Ethiopian women journalists
1980 births
Place of birth missing (living people)
Ethiopian prisoners and detainees
Imprisoned journalists in Ethiopia