{"id":115716,"date":"2021-03-02T12:07:38","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T04:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=115716"},"modified":"2021-03-02T12:07:40","modified_gmt":"2021-03-02T04:07:40","slug":"ethiopia-unrest-four-media-workers-arrested-in-crisis-hit-tigray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=115716","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopia unrest: Four media workers arrested in crisis-hit Tigray"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

ADDIS ABABA, March 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Four media workers in Ethiopia\u2019s conflict-wracked Tigray region, including a translator working for Agence France-Presse, have been arrested and detained, their families and employers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tigray has been the theatre of fighting since early November 2020, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced military operations against the Tigray People\u2019s Liberation Front (TPLF), accusing them of attacking federal army camps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The area was an information black hole for much of that time, with reporting heavily restricted and the internet cut off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seven international media organisations \u2014 including AFP, the BBC and the Financial Times \u2014 have now been granted accreditation to report from Tigray, but journalists were warned by officials they might face unspecified \u201ccorrective measures\u201d if they did not meet local standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fitsum Berhane and Alula Akalu, who were working as translators for journalists from AFP and the Financial Times, were detained on Saturday, their families said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A third man, a journalist named Temrat Yemane, was also arrested in Mekele, the Tigrayan capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Late Monday the BBC also said one of its journalists, Girmay Gebru, had been detained by the military in Mekele.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fitsum and Alula are being held at a military college near Mekele University, their families said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relatives have not been able to see them and no explanation has been given for the arrests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are under investigation. The information we have is that there is already some evidence,\u201d said Mulu Nega, the leader of the interim administration in Tigray which was appointed by Addis Ababa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked what the investigation was about and what the evidence was he said: \u201cThere is no detailed information.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AFP\u2019s global news director Phil Chetwynd called for Fitsum\u2019s immediate release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have not been informed of any specific charges against Fitsum Berhane. His collaboration with a media outlet should not be a motive for his arrest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Financial Times said it was taking \u201call possible steps\u201d to secure the release of the translators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur concerns have been raised with the relevant authorities as we work to understand the reasons for the arrests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BBC said it had expressed its \u201cconcern to the Ethiopian authorities\u201d and was awaiting their response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Media freedom group the Committee to Protect Journalists said the detentions could send a chill through the reporting community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Ethiopian military\u2019s arrests of journalists and media workers will undoubtedly lead to fear and self-censorship,\u201d the group said Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEthiopian authorities should release these journalists and media workers immediately and provide guarantees that the press can cover the conflict in Tigray without intimidation.\u201d — NNN-AGENCIES
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ADDIS ABABA, March 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Four media workers in Ethiopia\u2019s conflict-wracked Tigray region, including a translator working for Agence France-Presse, have been arrested and detained, their families and employers said. Tigray has been the theatre of fighting since early November 2020, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced military operations against the Tigray People\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":115719,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[213],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115716"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=115716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/115719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=115716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=115716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=115716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}