Editor jailed without charges

Editor-in-chief of the weekly Amharic paper, Goggle, Wubeshet Taye was arrested on Wednesday without court orders and charges.

Wubeshet was summoned over the phone for “questioning” on Wednesday morning in relation with a recent story published in the paper which says the current president of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus’s Etefa Gobena was defrocked.

 The editor who reported in person at the police station was told that he would be placed before “speedy trial” that afternoon, which according to the newspaper never happened.

He wasn’t brought to trail on Thursday either.

“The information was provided by trustworthy sources and even published in other local papers. We couldn’t quite comprehend why the editor would be singled out and thrown into jail?” inquired the paper in today’ edition.

Though the editor appeared before the 14th Criminal Court yesterday afternoon, the judges dismissed the case saying that his file wasn’t presented to them. Answering to the captive’s plea on the condition of his arrest, the judge said they couldn’t decide on a case that wasn’t brought to them.