4 Ways You Can Join the #FreeZone9Bloggers Campaign · Global Voices
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Zone 9 Tumblr Collage. Images selected from zoneniner.tumblr.com.
Befeqadu Hailu, Abel Wabela, Atnaf Berahane, Mahlet Fantahun, Zelalem Kibret, and Natnael Feleke (all members of the Zone 9 blogging collective) and journalists Asmamaw Hailegeorgis, Tesfalem Waldyes and Edom Kassaye were arrested on April 25 and 26, 2014 in Addis Ababa. They have since been held in Maekelawi detention center with no access to legal counsel. They have not been allowed to see their families.
Since 2012, the Zone 9 blogging collective has worked to foster civic engagement and critical commentary about social and political issues in Ethiopia, alongside fellow journalists seeking similar results through newspaper work. Their arrest and detention constitute a violation of their universal human right to free expression, and their right not to be arbitrarily detained, as protected by Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The Global Voices community and our network of friends and allies are demanding the release of the nine men and women.