Ethiopia’s civil war has been bad news for press freedom
The government arrests and sometimes beats journalists who criticise it
Does reporting a crime make you an accomplice to it? If the crime is rebellion in Ethiopia, then the answer is yes. That, at least, appears to have been the logic of Ethiopian officials when they arrested Amir Aman, a journalist working for the Associated Press, an American news agency, last year. Amir had interviewed members of the Oromo Liberation Army. For this he spent 125 days behind bars. State television accused him and his colleagues of “promoting” terrorists. If found guilty they could face 15 years in prison.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Gagged”
Middle East & Africa May 21st 2022
From the May 21st 2022 edition
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