NAIROBI —
At least nine media workers in
Ethiopia’s northern Amhara region have been
arrested by local authorities, their employers said Monday, as rights activists
warned of a sweep of unlawful detentions.
اضافة اعلان
Two outlets — the
Nisir International Broadcasting Corporation and Ashara, both covering
Ethiopian affairs on their YouTube channels — said their studios in Amhara were
raided in recent days and staff taken away, some to undisclosed locations.
Nisir said four of its employees, including journalists and back-office staff,
were arrested and equipment seized from their workplace in
Bahir Dar on
Thursday and Friday by security forces and local police.
The network, which
broadcasts on a YouTube channel, said two of its staff were believed to be
detained in a prison at Bahir Dar, while another two were being held 185
kilometers from the regional capital. The whereabouts of two other Nisir
journalists remained unknown, it added.
“We urge the
government to immediately release our journalists and return our studio
equipment,” the broadcaster said.
The other outlet,
Ashara, said five of its staff were detained in a raid on their studio in Bahir
Dar on Thursday and were being held in a detention center outside the city.
Authorities in
Amhara, the second-most populous region in Ethiopia, said over
4,000 people suspected of crimes had been arrested in an ongoing enforcement
operation.
“The government
will continue in a reinvigorated manner this peacekeeping work/activity,” said
Desalegn Tassew, head of Amhara’s Peace and Security Bureau, in a statement
published on state media.
On Sunday the
Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the state-affiliated independent
rights body, expressed concern about a spate of arrests that had netted
“journalists and social activists”. The commission said while some detainees
had been granted visitations or charged, “many other detainees have been
unlawfully detained, have not been brought before court, and have not been
visited by family”.
“Especially in the
Amhara region, many detainees have been arrested in detention centers far from
their home areas and arbitrarily detained, making it difficult for family
members to know their whereabouts.”
TV host Solomon Shumye,
who has a show on YouTube, was also detained in the Ethiopian capital Addis
Ababa on Friday and accused of inciting violence, his sister Tigist Shumye
said.
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