ISTANBUL
AFP Photo
People who use online voice and video communication
programs could be sentenced to 15 years in prison according to a new law in
Ethiopia, daily Milliyet reported today.
Skype, Voip, Viber, Paltalk, Yahoo Messenger and Google
Voice have all been banned as part of a law that was enacted May 24 to control
telecommunications.
"The Ethiopian government is interfering in all
kinds of information exchange," Ambroise Pierre of Reporters Without
Borders said in criticizing the law. "There is already huge pressure on
print media. Several journalists were arrested last year."
The country has been internationally criticized for
putting pressure on media and restricting freedom of expression.
June/18/2012