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DAKAR, Senegal – The arrest of a cameraman working for the Reuters news agency in the Ethiopian capital last week shows how press freedom has been eroded in a country now engaged in war with one of its own states, according to an international media watch group.
Kumerra Gemechu, 38, was arrested at his home in Addis Ababa, the capital, as his 10-year-old daughter clung to him screaming, said his wife Hawi Desalegn. He has not been charged, but will be held in detention for at least two weeks, according to his family.
Ethiopia has long been known for suppressing independent media. But it was hoped that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed – who came to power in 2018 and won the Nobel Peace Prize last year – would usher in an era of greater freedom and democracy.
Recently, however, his government has used the justice system to intimidate the press, said the Committee to Protect Journalists, the media watchdog group.
The crackdown on journalists has intensified since November 4, when Mr. Abiy launched a military offensive in the northern Tigray region, where leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front have resisted his rule. Thousands of people were reportedly killed and around 950,000 displaced. The government says it now controls the troubled region, but has blocked access to most media seeking permission to travel there.
“The arrest of Kumerra is another blow, signaling that the Ethiopian government is determined to intimidate and detain journalists in order to undermine the right to freedom of the press and the right to know its citizens,” said Angela Quintal, Africa program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, in a statement.
Mr. Kumerra, who has been a Reuters cameraman for 10 years, was arrested on December 24. The next day, without a lawyer present, a judge ordered Mr. Kumerra to be detained for an additional 14 days.
The Ethiopian government has not given a reason for Mr. Kumerra’s arrest. But in August, Prime Minister’s spokeswoman Billene Seyoum told Reuters that one of the government’s main roles and responsibilities was “to ensure security and stability and the rule of law prevails.”
In one press release published Monday, Reuters condemned Mr. Kumerra’s detention and called for his release as soon as possible.
“Kumerra is part of a Reuters team that reports on Ethiopia fairly, independently and impartially. Kumerra’s work demonstrates his professionalism and impartiality, and we know of no basis for his detention, ”said Stephen J. Adler, editor-in-chief of Reuters, in the statement. “Journalists should be allowed to report information in the public interest without fear of harassment or harm, wherever they are. We will not rest until Kumerra is released.
Other journalists were also targeted. On December 16, Reuters photographer Tiksa Negeri was beaten by two federal police officers, the news agency said.
A Kenyan journalist detained for 47 days last summer wrote that he was beaten, “kidnapped by six armed men in civilian clothes” and taken to the police station, where he caught Covid-19 in custody.
Medihane Ekubamichael, editor-in-chief of the Addis Standard newspaper which helped cover the Tigray region, was detained for about a month and released in early December,
The Committee to Protect Journalists said at least seven journalists, including Abreha Hagos of the Ethiopian news agency and Melese Diribsa of the Oromia Media Network, were jailed in 2020 for their work.
Tibor Nagy, the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, said he was “extremely concerned” by continuing reports of intimidation of journalists in Ethiopia.
“Freedom of the press is fundamental in any democratic society”, he said on Twitter. “America’s will to see media freedom respected remains unwavering.”
Journalists from Reuters, the BBC, Al Jazeera and German broadcaster Deutsche Welle have been accused by the Ethiopian Broadcasting Authority of “false” and “unbalanced” coverage of the fighting in Tigray, in a statement on the page Facebook’s authority on November 23. .
“We maintain our reporting on the conflict in the Tigray region and will continue to report on Ethiopia with integrity, independence and without bias, as we do around the world,” Reuters said in a separate statement.
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