SECTOR 1 1.3 There are no laws restricting freedom of expression such as excessive official secret or libel acts, or laws that unreasonably interfere with the responsibilities of media. There are several laws restricting freedom of expression in Ethiopia: • The Revised Criminal Code of 2004 in its article 613 provides for criminal defamation, on top of civil liability. In proceedings under this code, hearsay and anonymous reports from security officers are accepted as evidence. Where the defamation is against a public official, this will be taken as an aggravating circumstance and entail a penalty of up to one year imprisonment. While the burden of proving malice lies with the plaintiff in the case of civil proceedings, in criminal proceedings it is the defendant who has to show such proof. The accused have the right to be released on bail while the case is ongoing. • The Freedom of the Mass Media and Access to Information Proclamation of 2008 in its article 41 raised the ceiling for compensation in cases of civil defamation through the mass media substantially: from what used to be 1000 birr in the repealed press law to 100,000 birr (6080 US$) now. Article 42 allows for the public prosecutor to issue an order to impound a periodical or a book where there is sufficient reason to believe that a periodical or a book which is about to be disseminated contains illegal matter which would, if disseminated, lead to a clear and present grave danger to the national security which could not otherwise be averted through a subsequent imposition of sanctions... Such measures are subject to review by a court. • The Anti Terrorism Proclamation 2009 states in its article 6 – titled “encouragement of terrorism” – that whosoever publishes or causes the publication of a statement that is likely to be understood by some or all of the members of the public to whom it is published as a direct or indirect encouragement or other inducement to them to the commission or preparation or instigation or an act of terrorism stipulated under Article 3 of this proclamation is punishable with rigorous imprisonment from 10 to 20 years. The proclamation does not define the term “terrorism” but article 3 lists acts of terrorism such as causing “a person’s death”, creating “serious risk to the safety or health of the public”, “committing kidnapping or hostage taking” and the like. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ETHIOPIA 2010 13