Ethiopian authorities have arrested a visiting French journalist as part of a “conspiracy to create violence” in the East African country.
The Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) announced that Antoine Galindo, a journalist of the Paris-based African Intelligence (AI) news website, was arrested by plainclothes security personnel at Skylight Hotel in Ethiopia on Thursday.
At the time, Galindo was interviewing Bate Urgesa, a spokesperson for the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), a legally registered opposition party. The human rights organization stated that Batem was arrested.
Galindo was in Ethiopia to cover the African Union’s annual summit and other news, AI reported. He stated that he has a visa that allows him to work in the country and that the authorities are aware of his responsibilities.
AI described Galindo’s arrest as “unjust” and demanded his immediate release. “These trumped-up charges are not based on any substantial evidence to justify this prolonged deprivation of liberty,” he said.
On Saturday, a judge in Addis Ababa rejected Galindo’s bail request and extended his detention until March 1.
Galindo is accused of conspiring with two rebel groups, but police have yet to provide any concrete evidence, his lawyer told CPJ.
“The baseless and unjust detention of Antoine Galindo while fulfilling his legal journalistic duties is shameful and the Ethiopian authorities must immediately release him unconditionally,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program.
“Antoine Galindo’s arrest is another example of press freedom in Ethiopia where at least eight other journalists are in prison and should be released immediately,” she said.
According to the CPJ, Ethiopia is the second country in sub-Saharan Africa to imprison journalists after Eritrea.
When Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018, he promised to end repression and released thousands of political prisoners. However, during the 2020-2022 war in the northern Tigray region, his government suppressed protests and expelled or denied visas to foreign journalists.
Although many foreign journalists were deported during the Tigray war, the country often imprisoned foreign journalists for long periods of time. The last case In 2011, two Swedish journalists were arrested for illegally entering Ethiopia and reporting on a rebel group. The pair were charged with terrorism but released as part of a mass amnesty the following year.
Ethiopia is currently grappling with popular uprisings in Oromia and Amhara, the two largest regions, where government forces have been brutalizing them. A state of emergency has been imposed in the Amhara region since August, restricting the freedom of citizens.
The Ethiopian government has not yet commented on Galindo’s arrest.
