No fewer than seven journalists have been detained on terrorism allegations, an international journalism monitor said, after they aired a story accusing men in military uniforms of raping a woman in 2020.
The East African colossus of approximately 130 million people is routinely condemned by human rights NGOs for the persecution of dissenting voices.
The country ranks 141st out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders 2024 press freedom ranking, which blames “widespread self-censorship”.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, seven persons were held in late March after the Ethiopian Broadcasting Service broadcasted a woman’s claims “to have been abducted and raped by men in military uniform while she was a student in 2020”.
The woman then withdrew her statement on a state-owned television channel.
According to the CPJ, EBS’s founder apologised, stating the channel “discovered that the allegations were fabricated after the programme aired”.
According to court documents examined by the CPJ, authorities claim that the journalists “sought to incite conflict, threaten constitutional order, and overthrow the government in coordination with ‘extremist’ groups” in the Amhara region.
The journalists, along with the lady who brought the charges, were held in detention for a 14-day investigation.
“Arresting journalists on terrorism allegations is a disproportionate response to concerns over lapses in journalistic ethics,” said CPJ Africa programme coordinator Muthoki Mumo.
Amhara, the country’s second most populous province, has recently experienced an increase in violence.
In April 2023, a local organisation known as the Fano shifted from supporting the federal government to launching an armed insurrection.
Despite the government declaring a state of emergency in the region from August 2023 to June 2024, unrest persisted, prompting authorities to send in military forces in September.
Today, a major portion of Amhara remains beyond the control of federal authorities, and conflict has escalated recently.
