The Committee to Protect Journalists and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission have denounced a wave of arrests of journalists, some of whom support the cause of the Amhara, an ethnic group opposed to a recent government decision.
In a statement Friday evening, the NGO Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said that "
at least eight journalists
" (Abay Zewdu, Dawit Begashaw, Tewodros Asfaw, Genet Asmamaw, Assefa Adane, Meskerem Abera, Yeayeneabeba Gizaw, Samuel Assefa) were arrested between April 3 and 13, mainly in the capital Addis Ababa.
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Six were still being held on Friday and "face charges including incitement to violence."
Episodes of violence
Four of them "
mainly report and comment on political and social issues affecting the Amhara ethnic group, the second largest in Ethiopia
," CPJ said.
Some had openly criticized the decision of the federal government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to "
reassign " members of the regional "
special forces
" to the federal army or the police
, military units that had been set up illegally for some fifteen years. years by several of the 11 federated states.
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This announcement triggered episodes of anti-government violence between April 7 and 13 in the Amhara region.
"
The latest wave of arrests ... paints a deeply depressing picture of the state of press freedom in the country
," said Muthoki Mumo, CPJ's Sub-Saharan Africa representative.
"
Authorities must release all detained journalists, investigate allegations that some ... have been ill-treated or assaulted while in detention, and ensure that journalists do not operate in an environment of fear.
" he.
Nine people arrested in April
In a statement issued on Friday evening, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) - a statutory independent public institution - also demanded that "suspects
charged with media-related crimes be released from prison without any preconditions
".
She mentions nine people arrested in April, five named in the CPJ press release (Dawit Begashaw, Genet Asmamaw, Tewodros Asfaw, Samuel Assefa, Meskerem Abera) and four others (Argaw Sisay, Getnet Ashagre, Beyene Wolde, Senait Ayalew).
Arrests must be carried out carefully and only within the framework of the law
Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
The EHRC calls on “
government security forces (to) refrain from arresting and intimidating political party leaders and members, members of the media and activists
”.
“
When there is a case where they are suspected of a crime and there is enough evidence, arrests should be carried out carefully and only within the framework of the law.
They (the security forces) must also refrain from arresting suspects before investigation
,” she continues.
Ethiopia is in 114th position (out of 180 countries) in the 2022 world press freedom ranking established by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), down 13 places compared to 2021.
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