Ethiopia ends state of emergency, but still holds 3 journalists
Ethiopian authorities are continuing to hold three journalists in spite of lifting the emergency provisions under which they were detained. Amir Aman Kiyaro, a freelancer who contributes to The Associated Press, Thomas Engida, a local freelance camera operator, and Temerat Negara, co-founder of Terara Network, were among those arrested in the weeks after November 2, 2021, when the government declared a state of emergency and authorized sweeping arrests as part of its civil war against rebel forces allied with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
The journalists were expected to be released within 48 hours of the February 15 ending of the emergency, but on February 17 police in Oromia state announced new investigations into Temerat and police told the families of Amir and Thomas that the two journalists would be formally charged under the country’s anti-terrorism law.
More CPJ coverage on Ethiopia:
- Ethiopia uses emergency law to ramp up arrests of journalists
- Ethiopia’s civil war dashes once-high hopes of press freedom
- CPJ prison census: Journalists jailed in Ethiopia
