Media Freedom Violations escalate in Ethiopia as 11 journalists are detained.
At least 11 journalists have been arrested in Ethiopia since April 2023 according to Reporters without Borders (RSF). There has been tension between the federal army and the Amhara nationalist militias for years.
The clashes have intensified since April when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced his intention to dismantle regional military forces throughout Ethiopia. Three days after, a state of emergency was declared in the Amhara region on 3 August 2023, Alpha Media founder and editor Bekalu Alamrew was arrested by the Ethiopian police as he continued to cover clashes between the federal army and local militias, ever since he has not been brought before a judge and has not been told what he is charged with.
Abay Zewdu who is the director of Amhara Media Centre YouTube channel has been held since August 10 2023. Reports indicate that he was initially arrested in April 2023 and spent three weeks in prison in connection with his coverage of political and social issues related to the situation of the Amhara in Ethiopia. Yidnekachew Kebede, the founder of the online Negari TV channel, was arrested at his home on the morning of 17 August 2023 after covering the recent events in the Amhara region and is currently held at Addis Ababa’s 4th police station. These arrests are part of a broader drive by the authorities to silence critics of the government, Tens of thousands of alleged pro-Amhara activists have been jailed since the beginning of the year.
April’s arrests
In April 2023, the security forces arrested eight journalists who had covered subjects related to the Amhara ethnic group or the conflict in the Amhara region or had denounced government abuses. Most of them are still being held.
Genet Asmamaw is one of those arrested in April 2023. A reporter for the Yegna Media website who covers news developments concerning the Amhara people, is accused of inciting violence. She says she has been mistreated by the police who arrested her on 6 April 2023, her allegations were supported by a recording published by several Ethiopian media outlets.
Meskerem Abera, the founder and editor of Ethio Nikat Media, an independent media outlet, has had a similar experience. Arrested at her home on 9 April 2023, she is alleged by the authorities to have funded the Fano, an ethnic-nationalist Amhara youth militia. This is the third time she has been detained in a year. Her trial has gone viral throughout the country. When the Ethiopia Insider website published an article defending her and criticising the charges, the Ethiopian Media Authority – the media regulator – immediately demanded its withdrawal and the police threatened the website with prosecution for publishing false information.
Assefa Adane, the editor of the Negere Wolkait Media website, was arrested on 6 April – the same day as Asmamaw – after publishing several reports about the Amhara people. RSF has not been able to confirm whether he is still being held. Dawit Begashaw, the co-founder and editor of the Arat Kilo Media website and member of the Ethiopian Media Association’s executive committee, was arrested in the Amhara region’s capital, Bahir Dar, six days later. He had expressed strong criticism of the prime minister in videos published by Arat Kilo and, in an editorial, he had opposed the dismantling of the Amhara special force.
Other forms of harassment
Apart from the arrests journalists covering this region have been subjected to other forms of harassment. A burglary at the Ethiopia Insider on the night of 16 July 2023 is an example. “Cameras were stolen, but batteries were not taken,” a staff member told RSF. “The burglars were not looking to make money, but to prevent us from working.” Lacking cameras, Ethiopia Insider had to stop all its video productions.
In March 2023, unidentified individuals broke into the premises of the web TV Ethio 251 although it had government security protection. The losses at Ethio 251, which is mostly viewed on YouTube, were put at more than 30,000 euros but it was able to recover the money by means of a fund-raiser. Its offices were also used by two other media named in this release – Arat Kilo and Negere Welkait.
The vilification of Ethiopian journalists and media that cover conflicts is not new. During the war in the Tigray region from November 2020 to November 2022, the authorities pressured journalists to support the army and refrain from covering atrocities and the suffering of the civilian population.
Some journalists fled abroad because of threats against them. But even outside the country, journalists have not been safe. Gobeze Sisay, a journalist who helped found The Voice of Amhara YouTube channel, was extradited from Djibouti back to Ethiopia on 6 May and was detained in the criminal investigation centre in Addis Ababa. He is accused of terrorism because he allegedly cooperated with extremist forces in the Amhara region with the aim of overthrowing the regional leadership.
As Eastern Africa Editors Society, we note with concern on how journalists are being mistreated and handled in Ethiopia and ask for the immediate release of colleagues whose only mistake is informing the masses, and inviting speedy investigations of the cases against journalists.
By Robert Muhia