Ethiopian authorities have detained a visiting French journalist for taking part in a “conspiracy to cause chaos” in the East African country.
Antoine Galindo, a reporter for the Paris-based Africa Intelligence (AI) news website, was arrested by plainclothes security guards at the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel on Thursday, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
At the time, Galindo was interviewing Beit Urgessa, a spokesperson for the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), a legally registered opposition party. Bate was also detained, human rights groups said.
According to AI, Galindo was in Ethiopia to report on the African Union annual summit and other news. He had a visa that allowed him to work in the country and authorities said he was aware of his duties.
AI called Galindo’s arrest “unjust” and called for his immediate release. “These false accusations are not based on any concrete evidence that justifies this widespread deprivation of liberty,” the ministry said.
On Saturday, a judge in Addis Ababa rejected Galindo’s bail application after police asked for more time to search his cellphone, CPJ reported, citing Galindo’s lawyer. The detention was extended for one day.
Galindo is accused of colluding with two rebel groups, but police have not yet produced any substantive evidence against this allegation, his lawyer told CPJ.
Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program, said: “Antoine Galindo’s baseless and unjust detention for carrying out his legitimate journalistic duties is outrageous, and the Ethiopian authorities are committed to detaining him unconditionally. He must be released immediately.”
“The arrest of Antoine Galindo is yet another example of the dismal record of press freedom in Ethiopia, with at least eight more journalists imprisoned for their work and they too urgently need to be released. ” she said.
According to CPJ, Ethiopia has the second-highest number of journalists imprisoned in sub-Saharan Africa, after Eritrea.
When Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took power in 2018, he promised to end the crackdown and released thousands of political prisoners from prison. However, his government cracked down on opposition during the 2020-2022 northern Tigray war, expelling foreign journalists or denying them visas.
Although several foreign journalists were expelled during the Tigray war, the country rarely detains foreign journalists for long. The last incident occurred in 2011, when two Swedish journalists were arrested after illegally entering Ethiopia to cover the opposition. The two were charged with terrorist crimes, but were released the following year as part of a mass amnesty.
Ethiopia is currently grappling with an insurgency in the country’s two largest regions, Oromia and Amhara, where government forces are accused of human rights abuses. A state of emergency has been in place in Amhara since August, and civil liberties have been suspended in Amhara.
The Ethiopian government has not yet commented on Galindo’s arrest.
