Addis Abeba — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has expressed alarm over the abduction of Reporter newspaper editor Yonas Amare, the arbitrary detention of Somali Regional Television journalist Khadar Mohamed Ismael, and the incommunicado detention of radio host Abdulsemed Mohammed.
In a statement released yesterday, the CPJ detailed the circumstances of their arrests. Yonas was abducted on 13 August by masked men in military uniforms from his home in Sheger City, on the outskirts of Addis Abeba, according to colleagues and news reports. Witnesses said the men first confiscated phones and ordered residents indoors before taking him. Addis Abeba police denied holding him, and his whereabouts remain unknown.
On 5 August, Khadar was arrested in Ethiopia's Somali Regional State and remains in detention without charge. He appeared in court briefly on 9 August without legal representation and was questioned over a Facebook post critical of the government, according to relatives.
Abdulsemed, a host on Ahadu Radio and operator of the YouTube channel Salon Tube, went missing in Addis Abeba on 11 August . He was later seen on 14 August accompanying police officers during a search of his office, but his whereabouts are still unknown.
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CPJ said its queries to federal and Addis Abeba police, as well as the Somali Region communication bureau, went unanswered.
"Ethiopia, a country that already has a stained press freedom record, is increasingly becoming a hostile environment for journalists," said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Muthoki Mumo, urging authorities to investigate Yonas' disappearance and release Khadar and Abdulsemed.
Earlier this week, the Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice (EZEMA) party and the Ethiopian Media Professionals Association (EMPA) urged the government to disclose the whereabouts of two journalists, Abdulsemed Mohammed and Yonas Amare, who they allege were taken in an "extra-legal manner."
The calls come against the backdrop of Ethiopia's declining press freedom ranking. In the 2025 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on 2 May, Ethiopia was ranked 145th out of 180 countries, for the first time placing it in the "very serious" category. The report grouped Ethiopia alongside Uganda (143rd) and Rwanda (146th), countries facing what RSF described as a "worrying decline" in media freedom across East Africa.
Despite the slide, government officials have continued to adopt a more hostile stance toward the press. In June, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed issued pointed criticism of "some" Ethiopian media outlets, accusing them of "working to serve their own interests rather than putting the national interest first." The Government Communication Service (GCS) has similarly faulted commercial media for "downplaying national agendas" and framing issues narrowly along party or government lines.
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Speaking in the final installment of a four-part interview aired on state-run and party-owned broadcasters, Abiy compared the media to fire or a machete that "can either destroy or build, depending on how it is used." He added, "There is no such thing as an independent media in the world," reiterating his claim that some Ethiopian outlets are "working to serve their own interests."
On June 13, 2025, prominent journalist Tesfalem Waldyes, founder and editor-in-chief of Ethiopia Insider, was released from police custody after several days of detention, despite three separate court orders granting him bail.
On 17 April 2025 a police raid on the office of Addis Standard and the home of one of its senior staff members saw three managers detained, and multiple electronic devices were confiscated under the pretext of investigating a documentary allegedly aimed at "inciting violence."
CPJ described the raid as an "escalating threat to press freedom," while former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Tibor Nagy expressed his "disappointment" over the raid, adding, "No government likes independent media--which holds those in power accountable--but democracies accept it."
