closure

Independent weekly newspaper Addis Neger has been forced to close, and three of its editors have gone into exile, following a campaign of intimidation by the authorities. Mr Mesfin Negash, Managing Editor, Mr Abiye Teklemariam, Executive Editor, and Mr Tamerat Negera, Editor-in-Chief, left Ethiopia after they learned that the government was planning to prosecute them on anti-terrorism charges. 

Front Line is concerned following reports that the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) received a letter from the Egyptian Ministry of Social Solidarity on 27 April 2009 threatening to dissolve the organisation for violating the Law of Association by receiving unauthorized foreign funding. EOHR is a leading non-governmental organisation in Egypt, founded in 1985 and registered at the Ministry of Social Affairs in 2003. It has its headquarters in Cairo and has 17 provincial branches located throughout Egypt. EOHR was granted special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 2006. 

Front Line is deeply concerned following the closure of the Sudan Social Development Organisation (SUDO) and information on the imminent arrest of Dr Mudawi Ibrahim Adam. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam is the Chairperson of SUDO and one of the most prominent human rights defenders in Sudan. He was awarded the inaugural Front Line Award in 2005. 

Front Line is deeply concerned following the order for the closure of the women's rights publication, Zanan. Zanan was established in 1992, and is dedicated to the promotion and protection of women's rights in Iran. On 29 January 2008, the management of Zanan were informed by the Press Monitoring Council and the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance that the magazine's license was to be cancelled due to the publication of material that was threatening to the “psychological security of society”.