Two Ethiopian journalists working for the YouTube channel Ethio-Forum were arrested this week, one only days after being released from custody after nearly a month, a friend confirmed Thursday.
Yaysewe Shimelis, the channel’s creator, was arrested early Monday “by roughly four plainclothes security forces, according to neighbours who witnessed the arrest,” a friend told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Yaysewe’s current location is unknown, according to the friend.
Abebe Bayu, a former TV journalist and Ethio-Forum host, was also arrested late Wednesday at his house, and his whereabouts are unknown.
The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists said Yaysewe’s arrest was “deeply concerning, given Ethiopian authorities’ history of repeatedly arresting him and holding him for weeks without formal charges”.
“Authorities should immediately disclose his whereabouts and state their case against him, or release him without charge,” said the CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative Muthoki Mumo.
“They should also stop using the judicial system as a tool to punish journalists whose reporting does not align with the government’s narrative,” she said in a statement.
