20100622
allafrica

The US-backed regime in Ethiopia expelled an American journalist on 17 June.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Heather Murdock had been reporting with the US international broadcaster Voice of America (VOA) in the eastern region of Harer, near an area where there was reported skirmishes between the army and rebels of the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF).

The Ethiopian government has denied journalists independent access to the restive Ogaden Province, which neighbours the Harer region and attempted to censor an exclusive report on the rebels last year, according to CPJ research.

Under Ethiopia's draconian anti-terrorism law, journalists risk as many as 20 years in prison if authorities deem their reporting favourable to armed rebels and banned opposition groups.