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Police Arrest Ethiopia Insider's Founder

by Salem Solomon

   WASHINGTON --

   Journalist Tesfalem Waldyes, the founder and editor-in-chief of
   Ethiopia Insider, an Ethiopian news and analysis website, is in police
   custody, according to media reports.

   Tesfalem's colleagues and friends said his whereabouts hadn't been
   known since Saturday, but federal police confirmed his detention to the
   BBC, saying there is nothing to be concerned about.

   Police didn't give additional details. Shortly after the detention,
   Befeqadu Hailu, the executive director of the Center for Advancement of
   Rights and Democracy, said Tesfalem went missing after covering the
   Irreecha festival in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital. Irreecha is a
   cultural event celebrated by Ethiopia's ethnic Oromo community.

   Befeqadu also said via Twitter that Tesfalem's plan for Sunday was to
   report on the festival, which also took place at a second location,
   Bishoftu.

   The annual event is traditionally held in Bishoftu, a town located in
   the Oromia region, about 40 kilometers south of Addis Ababa.

   After covering the event in in Addis Ababa, Tesfalem posted a video on
   [1]Ethiopia Insider's Facebook page that showed attendees expressing
   their criticism of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's administration.

   Attendees also demanded the release of political prisoners, chanting,
   "Jawar, Jawar!

   Jawar Mohammed, an Oromo activist and opposition leader, has been
   imprisoned, charged with terrorism and other crimes alongside other
   prominent Oromo politicians.

   In 2014, Tesfalem was among three journalists and six bloggers, who
   became known as the "Zone 9 Bloggers" and were arrested for inciting
   violence among other charges, including terrorism. He spent more than
   one year in prison and was later released. Zone 9 Bloggers were
   recipients of the [2]Committee to Protect Journalists' International
   Press Freedom Award in 2015.

   The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists says at least seven
   journalists are imprisoned in the country.

   Separately, Prime Minister Abiy was sworn in for a second term on
   Monday.

   The event comes as the national government remains engaged in a nearly
   year-old armed conflict with rebels in Ethiopia's northern Tigray
   region.

   Salem Solomon is an award-winning multimedia reporter and editor with
   the Voice of America's News Center.

   Salem's multimedia and data-driven projects include Hunger Across
   Africa
   , a project that won the Cowan Award for Humanitarian Reporting, Boko
   Haram: Terror Unmasked, Unrest: Ethiopia at a Crossroads, [3]How
   Western DRC's Ebola Outbreak Was Contained, [4]Zimbabwe in
   Transition and [5]How Long Have Africa's Presidents Held
   Office?, which [6]won second place at the 2016 African Media Awards.

   Previously, she worked in the Africa Division, covering the latest news
   from across the continent. She started working at VOA with the Horn of
   Africa service while completing her master's degree in journalism at
   the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, where she was a
   teaching assistant. She has reported and edited stories online, and for
   radio broadcasts and TV in English, [7]Amharic and [8]Tigrigna.

   Salem's work has appeared in prominent news outlets including The New
   York Times, The Washington Post, the Tampa Bay Times and others. She
   researches trends in analytics and digital journalism. Her work focused
   on journalism innovation and fact-checking initiatives has appeared in
   the Columbia Journalism Review, on Poynter Online and Harvard's Nieman
   Journalism Lab, and she has taught advanced reporting at the University
   of South Florida's Department of Journalism and Digital Communication.

   For tips and inquiries, email salemsolomon@voanews.com.

References

   1. https://www.facebook.com/ethiopiainsider/videos/998330767679612/
   2. https://cpj.org/awards/zone-9-bloggers-ethiopia/
   3. https://projects.voanews.com/drc-ebola-outbreak/?utm_source=voaprojects
   4. https://projects.voanews.com/zimbabwe-in-transition/
   5. http://projects.voanews.com/african-presidents/
   6. https://www.usagm.gov/2016/10/26/voas-digital-project-wins-second-place-african-media-awards-competition/
   7. http://amharic.voanews.com/author/25085.html
   8. http://tigrigna.voanews.com/author/25525.html