Ambassador Media – August 2025 | Germany
The Ethiopian government’s relentless assault on press freedom has claimed yet another victim: Abdulsameed Mohamed, one of the nation’s most respected veteran journalists, is missing and believed to be in state custody.
Abdulsameed, a household voice in Ethiopian media for more than 30 years, vanished on Monday, August 5, 2017, after traveling to the Kaliti Transport Authority for a driving license test. According to his wife, he never made it inside. His phone has been silent ever since.
In the days that followed, his family—including their youngest child, Wolda—searched police stations across Addis Ababa, including the Federal Criminal Investigation Department, only to be met with denials. Yet colleagues later confirmed that on August 8, police escorted him to his office in Area 22, searched the premises, and removed him without explanation.
Abdulsameed’s career spans Ethiopian Television and Radio, EBS TV, Ahadu Radio, and independent YouTube platforms. He is currently a key voice behind Qedame Gebeya and Terek on Ahadu. His decades of fearless reporting have made him a trusted figure among audiences—and, evidently, a target for a government determined to crush dissent.
This is not an isolated case. It is part of a systematic campaign to muzzle independent journalists, intimidate the press, and control public narrative in Ethiopia. The arrests, harassment, and disappearances of reporters have become a chilling norm, signaling a deepening authoritarianism.
We call on international human rights organizations, press freedom advocates, and democratic governments to:
- Demand Abdulsameed’s immediate and unconditional release
- Investigate Ethiopia’s escalating attacks on the press
- Impose targeted sanctions against officials and agencies complicit in media repression
- Condition aid and diplomatic relations on measurable improvements in press freedom
The disappearance of Abdulsameed Mohamed is a stark reminder: in Ethiopia today, telling the truth can cost you your freedom—or your life. Silence is complicity. The world must act now.
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