Addis Abeba — Yeshiwas Assefa, former chairman of the Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice (Ezema) party, has been detained for over 48 hours without appearing in court.

In an interview with Addis Standard, his wife, Mulu Berhan, revealed that Yeshiwas was arrested on 31 May, 2024, on suspicion of "inciting violence."

Mulu detailed the arrest, stating, "Civilian policemen came to our house on Friday night and took him away, saying they wanted him for questioning."

She also disclosed that Yeshiwas was taken without a court order.

According to her, police searched their home the following day but found nothing.

She also disclosed that Yeshiwas is currently being held at the third police station.

On Monday, police informed Mulu that her husband was suspected of "using the media to incite people."

"Although Yeshiwas explained that he does not own any media outlets, he was asked to sign a document confirming this," Mulu added.

Yeshiwas and other politicians had been organizing a peaceful demonstration for early December 2023, under the motto "Stop the war! Peace be upon us!" in Addis Abeba.

However, due to what the organizers described as "government pressure," the planned rally was ultimately thwarted. Subsequently, four members of the organizing committee were also arrested in connection with the planned rally.

Yeshiwas, along with other members of the party, voluntarily resigned from Ezema last year.