05/22/07


3 New York Times journalists detained for 5 days in Ethiopia, then released, paper says

NEW YORK (AP) -- Three journalists for The New York Times were arrested by the Ethiopian military and held for five days before being released, the newspaper reported Tuesday.

The journalists, including Nairobi bureau chief Jeffrey Gettleman, were detained May 16 in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, near the Somali border, the paper said.

They were interrogated at gunpoint and released Monday without being charged, the paper said. The journalists were not told why they had been picked up; one was kicked in the back, and all three were threatened repeatedly.

Ethiopian soldiers took all their equipment, refusing to give it back because of security reasons, the paper said.

Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis said the three had returned to Nairobi.
They were reporting on the separatist conflict taking place there when they were detained by soldiers in the town of Degeh Bur.

Gettleman, 35; Vanessa Vick, 43; a photographer, who was kicked; and Courtenay Morris, 34, a videographer, were moved to different jails before authorities released them in Addis Ababa, the paper said.

Bill Keller, executive editor of the Times, said his paper was looking for explanations.
"Why were journalists on a legitimate newsgathering assignment arrested, imprisoned for five days, manhandled and threatened?" Keller asked. "Why were they denied a chance to communicate with the American embassy in Ethiopia, or with civilian officials of the Ethiopian government? Why were we unable to get accurate information about their whereabouts and condition?"

Keller thanked Donald Y. Yamamoto, the U.S. ambassador in Addis Ababa, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi for their help in freeing the journalists.