Two Swedish journalists were sentenced to 11 years in an Ethiopian prison on Tuesday after being convicted of illegally entering the country and supporting terrorism, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
“This sentence should satisfy the goal of peace and stability,” the press watchdog quoted Judge Shemsu Sirgaga as saying.
RSF said the conviction and sentencing are politically-motivated. In a statement, it said Ethiopia is trying to “send a warning signal to the national and international media about the danger of receiving a long jail sentence on a terrorism charge if they attempt any potentially embarrassing investigative reporting.”
The two photojournalists journalists, Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye, were arrested July 1 after sneaking across the border from Somalia into Ethiopia’s contested Ogaden region. They are accused of supporting the Ogaden National Liberation Front guerrillas, considered a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government.
The pair testified that their purpose was to report on Swedish oil company Lundin Oil operating in the region, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
RSF said the Ethiopian judicial system was not acting in accordance with international standards, forcing the defendants to prove themselves innocent rather than the prosecution proving them guilty.
Ethiopia will now likely receive a litany of complaints and protests from the international community over the sentencing. “You will hear references to Johan and Martin every day. You will be criticized every day. There will be a big campaign on their behalf,” RSF secretary-general Jean-François Julliard said.
