The two Swedish journalists, recently sentenced to 11 years, decided on Tuesday to petition for pardon from the Ethiopian government.

Though Reporter Martin Schibbye and photographer Johan Persson had the option to appeal to the Federal Supreme Court, they choose to rely on the "tradition of grace and forgiveness" that exist in Ethiopia, according to their statement quoted by a Swedish news outlet.

It is to be recalled that on Dec. 27,2011 the Federal High Court sentenced the two Swedish journalists to 11 years on charges of rendering support to the terrorist group ONLF and entering the country illegally. The court said reporter Martin Schibbye and photographer Johan Persson have met with ONLF chief in London and went to Kenya after which they entered Ethiopia through Somali region supporting the terrorist group. The two failed to rebut the charges and evidence presented by the prosecution, except the charge of participating in a terror plot that was dismissed by the Court.

In a brief statement emailed to The Associated Press today, spokesperson of the two journalists said: ‘there’s a tradition of pardoning and forgiving in Ethiopia and we choose to trust in this tradition’.

There is no comment from the Ethiopian government of the Journalists’ lawyers so far on the matter.

Source:

• Nyheter24.se
• Swedes Appeal Not | Svd.se
• Swedish journalists jailed in Ethiopia on terror charges to seek pardon – The Washington Post

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