Police were given 11 days to interview witnesses and are required to file formal charges or release Kiyaro.
Kiyaro is a freelance journalist who is accredited to The Associated Press. He has been held in detention since November. Kiyaro was scheduled for a court hearing on March 29.
“The court’s decision to keep Amir Aman Kiyaro in detention today is shocking for the Associated Press. “He continues to be held without charge,” Julie Pace, Executive Editor at AP, stated.
Pace stated that he urged the Ethiopian government “to release Amir immediately” and to end his unjust imprisonment. “As we’ve stated, it is evident that he is being targeted because he writes independent journalism.”
Under the country’s war related state of emergency powers, the video journalist was taken into custody in Addis Ababa on Nov. 28. In February, the state-of-emergency was liftedby the government due to changing circumstances in the deadly conflictbetween the northern Tigray and Ethiopian forces.
Federal police have stated that he was accused of “serving” the terrorist group’s purposes by interviewing its officials, according to state media. Thomas Engida, a local journalist, was also arrested and is currently facing similar charges.
AP repeatedly requested information on Kiyaro from officials at the Ethiopian Media Authority, prime minister’s office and other government offices.
Tesfaye Olani, the federal police inspector, has stated to state media that journalists had violated Ethiopia’s state of emergency law as well as Ethiopia’s antiterrorism law. He said that sentences could range from seven to fifteen years in prison.
Three months of arbitrarily detained Amir Amar Kiyaro has been “unclearer” Muthoki Momo, sub-Saharan Africa representative to the Committee to Protect Journalists stated earlier this month.
Kiyaro’s supporters launched a social media campaign to demand his release, #FreeAmirAmanKiyaro
In 2018, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmad took office with radical political reforms, which in part led him to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in the next year. A number of journalists were freed from prison and, for a short time, Ethiopia had no journalist behind bars. Media advocacy groups once praised these reforms but have since criticised the dramatic backsliding, especially since Ethiopia’s war in November 2020.
In an open letter, more than 12 Ethiopian journalists condemned the persecution of journalists, including Kiyaro. They stated that the hostile environment in which many Ethiopian journalists are currently living has made them feel intimidated, trapped behind bars, fearful of being arrested, and considering quitting their jobs, or fleeing the country.
