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Journalists Say They Were Barred from Traveling to Cover Ethiopian Regional
Election

Esha Sarai

   Simon Marks, a freelance journalist who often reports for VOA, was
   stripped of his passport and cellphone at Ethiopia's Bole International
   airport Monday while traveling to cover elections in the Tigray region.

   Marks is one of at least four journalists who were barred from boarding
   the flight in Addis Ababa.

   "I made it through security, but when I got to the gate there were two
   plainclothed security officials flanked by people in uniform belonging
   to the National Intelligence Security Service of Ethiopia. They were
   asking me who I was, why I was traveling there," Marks told VOA via
   WhatsApp.

     At Bole Airport this morning in Addis Ababa, three local reporters,
     myself, and other members of the public boarding a flight to Mekele
     were prevented from traveling by National Intelligence and Security
     Service. Phones and laptops confiscated, social media accounts
     scrutinized.
     -- Simon Marks (@MarksSimon) [1]September 7, 2020

   Marks, along with three journalists who work for Ethiopia's Awlo news
   site, were traveling to Mekele to cover elections in Tigray that the
   federal government has deemed illegal.

   National elections, scheduled to take place last month, were postponed
   in March due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. But in defiance
   of the order, the Tigray region announced that it would be holding
   elections for its regional parliament this week.

   Marks said the security officers at the airport made it clear that the
   controversial elections were the reason they were stopping him.

   "They... were also looking at social media posts and previous articles
   I had written," he said.

References

   1. https://twitter.com/MarksSimon/status/1302924933073440769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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