Befeqadu Hailu
Befeqadu Hailu Techanie (Amharic: በፍቃዱ ሃይሉ?; born 1980) is an Ethiopian writer, activist, and blogger. He is a member of the Zone 9 bloggers group and was arrested in April 2014 due to his blogging activities.
Biography
Befeqadu was born in 1980 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.[1] He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Management and Information Systems from Zegha Business College and worked as an IT professional at St. Mary's University College.[1] Since 2009, he has worked as a journalist for various publications and at one point served as Editor-in-Chief for Enqu, a prominent Ethiopian magazine.[2][3] Befeqadu's first novel, Children of their Parents, won the third place Burt Award for African Literature in 2012.[1] He is also a part-time poet and has unpublished poetry compilations.
Befeqadu first began blogging on his personal blog, The Q Perspective, where he passionately wrote about sociopolitical issues in Ethiopia. He later became one of the founding members of the Zone 9 bloggers, a collective of bloggers sharing commentary about political repression and social injustice in Ethiopia.[4] Befeqadu is also a member of Global Voices Online, an international network of bloggers and translators.[5]
Arrest
Due to his activities as part of the Zone 9 bloggers group, Befeqadu was arrested on April 25, 2014, and charged with terrorism.[6] Specifically, he was charged with violating Article 4 of the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation as well as various other laws.[7] The government accused Befeqadu of being a leader of a terrorist enterprise and inciting violence. They also accused him of collaborating with Ginbot 7, a banned political party that the government has labelled a terrorist organization.[7] At his hearing, Befeqadu stated that he was forced to make false confessions.[8] As of August 2014, his trial was ongoing.
References
- 1 2 3 "Children of their Parents". CODE-Ethiopia.
- ↑ "Detainees’ Profile". Zone9ers 'Trial'. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- ↑ Mariam, Alemayehu G. (20 July 2014). "Ethiopia in the Twilight Zone (9) of Fear". Ethiopian Review. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
- ↑ Levy, Rachael (7 July 2014). "Zone 9 blogger urges world to call for freedom in Ethiopia". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- ↑ "Befeqadu Hailu". Threatened Voices: Tracking Suppression of Online Free Speech. GlobalVoices. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- ↑ "Ethiopia Detains Several Bloggers, a Journalist". Addis Standard. 26 April 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
- 1 2 "Full Translation of Zone9ers Charge Sheet". Zone9ers 'Trial'. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
- ↑ "The staged ‘hearing’ of the three bloggers Abel, Befeqadu and Mahlet concluded with another appointment for 6th time". Zone9ers 'Trial'. 29 June 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.