Ethiopia/Denmark: Journalist assaulted after adoption case

Posted

Date:  2013-01-14
INFORMAL TRANSLATION, published in Danish in Politiken

Politiken contact in Addis Ababa, which helped to reveal orphanage, was beaten and had a hospital.

By Dorrit SAIETZ

The Ethiopian journalist Abraham F., which since July has been working with Politiken to investigate DanAdopt company in the country, has been subjected to a serious assault.

“It happened 27th October around 19:30 local time. I was attacked by a group of people who called me ‘liar-journalist “and said,” You can not bring anything, “” you have no power’ and a lot of other things, “says Abraham.
He has 26 years of experience as a journalist and photographer in Ethiopia and other countries in the Horn of Africa and has worked for the BBC, AFP and AP. He has also helped to produce documentary feature for ABC, Fox TV, 60 Minutes and Australian and German television.

Enate alems director called Amy’s mother and told her that he found out who I am, and that he knows what he must do to me

Abraham F., journalist “They took my phone, my wallet and my watch to make it look like a robbery and left me in a dark side street, where some passersby helped me to contact my family took me to the police and the hospital.”

Did forward to Amy’s mother

A fracture of the left elbow and several broken teeth as well as various scrapes cost him two weeks of hospitalization. Ethiopian police are investigating the case.
It was Abraham F., who helped Politiken to find Amy’s mother, whom we visited in July and told his version of how and why she had given up for adoption her two youngest children to Denmark through the orphanage ENAT Alem and the Danish organization DanAdopt.

During Politiken’s visit to Ethiopia, she was contacted threatening some of ENAT alems Director, Ato Aderejew who demanded that she should reconcile his statement with his and threatened her that she would never see her children again.

Threatened by orphanage director

After the first articles were published in Denmark, continued Abraham F. investigating the matter to Politiken. He visited among other regional and local authorities had closed ENAT alems orphanage in Assela.

During this work in September he started getting anonymous phone calls of threatening nature. “I can not prove that it has ENAT Alem to do”, emphasizes Abraham F.

“But ENAT alems director called Amy’s mother and told her that he found out who I am, and that he knows what he must do to me, which I see as a threat.”

DanAdopt reject knowledge of Case

Both the Ethiopian authorities and the Danish Embassy has been regularly informed about the threats that employees at the Danish Embassy has dealt with very seriously.

Also DanAdopt have been informed, but denies any knowledge of the case. “All related to DanAdopt has announced that they do not know anything about it,” writes DanAdopt Director Marianne Wung-Sung in an email.

The International Journalistføderations emergency response following the case closely.

“If the law is broken, journalists have an additional obligation to explore and identify it when it goes beyond the welfare of children. And it is our job to support the journalists while performing their work, “said Ernest Sagaga from the IFJ’s crisis response