Eskinder Nega

Eskinder was picked up as he walked out of an Internet café in Piazza at the heart of the Ethiopian capital.

In a brief email message why he couldn't send in his article, Eskinder said the deputy police commissioner told him that his writings on the Internet and his interviews with various media were "inflammatory."

The journalist's top-rated weekly column appears on www.ethiomedia.com every Friday and is an immediate standout with the readers around the globe.

To clear himself of any ambiguity, Eskinder asked the police chief one question: "Are you asking me to stop writing and giving interviews?"

"No," the police commissioner said. "But be warned that you have already crossed the boundary. We have enough to convict you already. I want you to understand that this is a serious warning."

Eskinder said he had nothing to offer his readers this week as his papers were confiscated by police. However, he said he would be back with his writing next week.