438 Days

On the evening of June 28, 2011, Swedish journalists Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson crossed the border from Somalia into Ethiopia without authorization. After months of research, planning, and previous failed attempts, they aimed to report on the impact of the oil industry on the population of the war-torn and isolated Ogaden region. Five days later, they were shot and captured by the Ethiopian army while in the desert. When their initial reportage was suppressed, another narrative emerged—one involving lawlessness, propaganda, and international politics. Following a controversial trial, they were convicted of terrorism and sentenced to eleven years in prison. They were not alone in their imprisonment; their fellow inmates included journalists, writers, and politicians who had been detained for resisting the regime. Their original report on oil was transformed into a story about censorship, and their daily existence became a struggle for survival within the infamous Kality prison in Addis Ababa.