Ethiopia / Africa

Nairobi, June 10, 2025—Ethiopian authorities should immediately release journalist Tesfalem Waldyes, founder and editor-in-chief of the privately owned news outlet Ethiopia Insider, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. He remains in detention despite having been granted bail. “The detention of Tesfalem Waldyes, even after a court-ordered his release, underscores the Ethiopian government’s disregard for judicial processes…

Nairobi, May 30, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by an Ethiopian regional court’s decision to sentence Jigjiga Television Network founder Ahmed Awga to two years in jail on charges of disseminating hateful information via a Facebook post he did not author. On May 22, the Fafen Zone High Court in Jigjiga, the capital…

Nairobi, May 16, 2025—Journalist Ahmed Awga has been in prison for over three weeks for interviewing a man who said his 16-year-old son Shafi’i Abdikarim Ali died following a police beating — one of at least seven journalists arrested in Ethiopia in the last month as the government tightens the screws on the media. After…

Nairobi, April 22, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by Ethiopian police raids on the privately owned news outlet Addis Standard’s office and an employee’s home, their confiscation of electronic devices, and detention of three managers for several hours. “The Addis Standard raids are the latest moves in the Ethiopian government’s campaign to silence…

Nairobi, April 9, 2025—Ethiopian authorities should drop terrorism investigations into at least seven journalists from the privately owned Ethiopian Broadcasting Service (EBS) who were detained over what authorities said was a fabricated documentary, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Police arrested the journalists over a March 23 episode of “Addis Meiraf,” which has since…

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ethiopian authorities to accept and implement recommendations on improving press freedom conditions and guaranteeing the safety of journalists during the United Nations’ upcoming review of its human rights record. Earlier this year, CPJ submitted a report assessing Ethiopia’s press freedom and journalist safety record from 2019, as part…

Nairobi, October 4, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the wellbeing of journalist Yeshihasab Abera, who has yet to appear in court after security personnel took him from his office on September 30 in Amhara State, which has been engulfed in conflict since 2023. Yeshihasab, deputy editor of the state-owned Bekur newspaper, was…

When Belete Kassa’s friend and news show co-host Belaye Manaye was arrested in November 2023 and taken to the remote Awash Arba military camp known as the “Guantanamo of the desert,” Belete feared that he might be next. The two men co-founded the YouTube-based channel Ethio News in 2020, which had reported extensively on a conflict that…

Nairobi, May 3, 2024— The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ethiopian authorities not to contest the appeal of journalist Muhiyadin Mohamed Abdullahi’s conviction on hate speech and false news charges. On Thursday, May 2, Muhiyadin—who has been detained since his February 13 arrest—was sentenced to two years in prison by the Fafen Zone High Court in Jigjiga,…

Nairobi, March 12, 2024—Authorities in Ethiopia should unconditionally release journalist Muhiyadin Mohamed Abdullahi, who was arrested almost a month ago on February 13, and desist from arbitrarily detaining members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Muhiyadin, who publishes reporting and commentary on his Muxiyediin show Facebook page, was arrested by security…