Obama’s visit has highlighted plight of Ethiopian journalists fighting atmosphere of repression | Democracy, elections and voting at Democracy Chronicles

The release of columnist Reeyot Alemu is living proof that Barack Obama can bring some change to Ethiopia, with the US president urging more freedom for the press on a visit to the east African country. Alemu, 35, is one of three journalists and two bloggers freed just three weeks before Obama’s arrival in the Ethiopian…

Barack Obama has met the Ethiopian prime minister on the first visit by a serving US president to a nation with one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa but which has often been criticised for its rights record. In a joint press conference on Monday in the capital, Addis Ababa, Obama urged East Africa’s most populous…