Plainclothes security officers arrested Ethiopia Insider founder and editor-in-chief Tesfalem Waldyes at the Ghion Hotel in the capital, Addis Ababa, according to a statement by Haq Media and Communication, which manages Ethiopia Insider, and news reports.
On June 10, 2025, he appeared before Addis Ababa City First Instance Kirkos Division Court, where police accused him of “spreading false information,” according to CPJ’s review of a court document and his lawyer, Betemariam Alemayehu, who spoke to CPJ.
The court granted him bail of 15,000 birr (US$109) and subsequently issued a release order, which CPJ reviewed, following payment of the amount. Even though police indicated that they intended to appeal the release order, they had not done so by the evening of June 10, and Tesfalem remained behind bars. Police appealed on June 11, and the Addis Ababa City Court of Appeal upheld the lower court’s bail order. However, police continued to hold him and appealed to the Addis Ababa Cassation Court, which again upheld the bail order, according to Haq Media and Communicationstatements. Tesfalem was released on June 13, 2025.
CPJ’s phone calls and queries sent via messaging app to Addis Ababa police spokesperson Markos Tadesse and to Ethiopian government spokesperson Legesse Tulu were not immediately answered.