Lydia Glenn

News Editor

lmg5921@psu.edu

Recently, Ethiopia is being urged to uphold its international commitments to the freedoms of expression and the press by releasing journalists it has imprisoned. 

Two lawmaker in Congress, Representatives Adam Schiff of California and Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania, have joined press freedom advocates in calling for the release of journalist Amir Aman Kiyaro. 

Kiyaro has been held in Ethiopia for four months without charges, and Schiff and Scanlon are calling for his immediate release. 

Ethiopia has adopted the U.N.’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and as a member of the African Union, they should release Kiyaro and other journalists. 

Kiyaro, a 30-year-old journalist with The Associated Press, was originally detained on November 28 in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. His arrest was in part due to the country’s war-related state of emergency. The state of emergency was lifted in February, but journalists were still being detained. The deadly conflict between Ethiopian forces and those of the northern Tigray region was what caused the emergency. But there was a “humanitarian truce” declared by the Ethiopian government which ended the emergency. 

Ethiopian state media stated that Kiyaro is accused of “serving the purposes” of what they called a terrorist group by interviewing its officials. Local journalist Thomas Engida was also arrested at the same time as Kiyaro and charged with similar crimes. 

Tesfaye Olani, the Federal Police Inspector, told state media that the journalists violated the state of emergency law and Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism law. She also stated that the violations could lead to seven to 15 years behind bars. 

The U.N. Rights Committee, when interpreting the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, which Ethiopia has ratified, specifically stated that journalists should not be imprisoned for interviewing a member of a group classified as terrorist. 

The committee stated that “The media plays a crucial role in informing the public about acts of terrorism and its capacity to operate should not be unduly restricted.” 

In paragraph 46 on press freedom it states, “Journalists should not be penalized for carrying out their legitimate activities.” 

The African Union and its African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, which Ethiopia is a part of, has similar provisions that compel member states to uphold the freedom of the press. 

Schiff stated, “Kiyaro has been unjustly detained in Ethiopia… It’s clear his only offense is his work as an independent journalist covering the conflict in Tigray – and exposing the unvarnished truth to the Ethiopian people.”

“Journalists like Amir risk their lives and livelihoods to bring us the news, and we cannot sit idly by as their freedoms come under assault,” he said. “Because an attack on the free press anywhere is an attack on democracy everywhere. Ethiopia must free Amir Aman Kiyaro.”

Scanlon also put out a statement saying, “A free press is essential in any civil society… As conflicts unfold in many corners of the globe, it is as important as ever for journalistic freedom to be protected worldwide.” 

She continued, “I am concerned that Amir Aman Kiyaro continues to be detained in Ethiopia without charges. This ongoing, unjust detention appears to violate international standards on freedom of expression, which the Ethiopian government has agreed to as a signatory on multiple international treaties. I’ll continue to monitor this important case with congressional colleagues, and hope the courts move quickly to release Amir.”

More than a dozen Ethiopian journalists and the Committee to Protect Journalists have also called for immediate releases of the journalist. Supporters have launched a social media campaign with the hashtag #FreeAmirAmanKiyaro.

Associated Press Executive Editor Julie Pace said, “We urge the Ethiopian government to release Amir immediately and end his unjust detention. It is clear he is being targeted for his independent journalism.”