The editor-in-chief of one of Ethiopia’s leading independent news outlets was seized, assaulted and interrogated by security personnel, according to the publication’s owner, amid growing concerns over pressure on independent media in the country.
Jakken Publishing, which owns the Addis Standard, said editor-in-chief Yonas Kedir was taken on Saturday, August 1, held for about 24 hours and subjected to prolonged interrogation.
According to a written account cited by AFP, Yonas said two men in civilian clothes violently seized him, struck him and forced him into a double-cab pickup truck.
He said his captors accused him of “selling the country out”.
The incident marked the beginning of three consecutive days of action against the Addis Standard, according to Jakken Publishing.
On Sunday, August 2, security personnel raided the outlet’s offices without due process and confiscated equipment from its multimedia studio, the publisher said.
The following day, police issued an eviction order requiring the company to leave its premises within three days, ending 16 years of operations from the site.
The Addis Standard remains online and continues to publish reports, including coverage of the raid and its aftermath. The publisher said it was consulting on its next steps.
The Ethiopian government has not publicly responded to the allegations and did not reply to a BBC request for comment.
Authorities revoked the Addis Standard’s media registration in February, accusing the outlet of breaching media ethics and threatening what they described as “national interests”, without identifying specific reports behind the decision.
The publication continued operating while challenging the measure in court.
Press freedom and rights groups said the latest developments fit a broader pattern of pressure on independent journalism in Ethiopia.
The Committee to Protect Journalists described the actions against the Addis Standard as an “alarming escalation” in what it called an effort by Ethiopian authorities to dismantle one of the country’s most prominent independent news organisations.
Human Rights Watch also criticised the government’s treatment of the outlet, saying it reflected wider attempts to suppress critical reporting.
The group said Ethiopian authorities had arbitrarily detained dozens of journalists over the past year, including some held incommunicado, while media licences have also been revoked.
The Ethiopian Media Authority has separately issued what it called “final written warnings” to independent broadcasters Arts TV and Ahadu FM, threatening to suspend or revoke their licences over alleged repeated violations of media regulations.