Ethiopia is again clamping down on independent media as the Abiy regime shuts down two online Media and arresting their journalists. CPJ has reported the arrest of 15 employees working for ETHIO-FORUM and AWLO Media, both with a massive following on YouTube and other social media services.
ETHIO-FORUM is an outlet most popular on YouTube and has been releasing content since late 2019. In the backroom of EF are two excellent journalists, Yayesew Shilemes and Abebe Bayu, arrested by the Federal police for ‘disseminating false news.’ Yayesew had been previously ordered to pay bail on the exact charges and later released from detention.
Federal police and other security forces apprehended Yayesew while going to the Lideta first instance court in Addis Ababa. After he was taken away, family members and his lawyer Tadele Geberemedhen didn’t know his whereabouts, they told CPJ.
The voice of EF, Abebe Bayu, arguably the more recognizable of the two, fell victim to a vicious assault in Addis Ababa. His friends told CPJ that he had been leaving a restaurant on June 21 when a group of men forced the journalists into a vehicle, where after he was severely beaten and thrown in a ditch near Gelan, the outskirts of Addis Ababa. His assailants also warned him to stop making reports criticizing the government.
CPJ released a report of the attack on EF journalist Abebe on July 1, and soon after, security forces took him away to an unknown detention center. “The people who abducted and assaulted Ethiopian journalist Abebe Bayu cannot be allowed to escape responsibility; authorities must thoroughly investigate this incident, identify the attackers, and hold them to account,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator. “Impunity for attacks on the press must not be allowed to fester in Ethiopia, and all journalists must feel safe to report freely.”
EF has not released content since the arrest and assault on two of its journalists, with its last one coming on the day of Abebe’s abduction.
AWLO Media, another YouTube outlet, was forced to close its studio after government forces made their way into the studio and arrested twelve of its employees. As of now, none have been brought to court. The detained employees include reporters Bekalu Alamrew, Fanuel Kinfu, Fana Negash, and Miherete Geberkirestos; camera operators Mussie Hadra and Nebeyu Mikael; video editors Melkamfire Yemam and Fikerte Yensu; and four other employees.
The legal advisor for both Media outlets, Tadele Geberemedhen, was also custody by government security forces.
EF and AWLO Media emerged as one of the most independent media in Ethiopia. EF, an analytical channel that sought to make sense of the complex reality of Ethiopian politics and expose the failings of the current regime, was much appreciated by Ethiopians all over.
Bekalu and co. were also heavily critical of the Abiy administration, particularly the handling of the war in Tigray. Bekalu would usually discuss the Tigray war at length with his co-producer Fanuel Kinfu. They would posit valid arguments, questioning the regime’s invitation of foreign forces into an internal affair and the targeting of Tigrayans as a result of the continuing conflict in Tigray.
Federal Police Commission communication bureau head Jeylan Abdi, told AS “The journalists were not arrested because of their profession but rather due to their affiliation with a terrorist group which the parliament bans.”
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