Abay Zewdu of the Amara Media Center (AMC) was arrested on August 10, 2023, in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. He was charged with terrorism in March 2024. Five of the six Ethiopian journalists in CPJ’s 2024 prison census are facing this charge, after reporting on conflict in the Amhara region, for which they could face the death penalty if convicted.
Abay is chief editor of the AMC, which publishes news and commentary on political issues related to Ethiopia’s ethnic Amhara people, according to CPJ’s review. As of late 2024, AMC had some 86,000 YouTube subscribers and over 300,000 Facebook followers.
Zoma Zewdu, the journalist’s sister, told CPJ that the police did not accuse Abay of any specific offense but said they were arresting him under the provisions of a state of emergency declared on August 4, 2023, in response to the Amhara conflict.
The conflict broke out following the government’s April 6 decision to integrate regional militia in Amhara into the federal army, which triggered protests. The Amhara Regional Special Forces refused to surrender their weapons and the Fano militia took up arms against federal forces — their former allies in a civil war in northern Ethiopia that ended with a peace deal in 2022. The Amhara conflict was ongoing as of late 2024.
The state of emergency, which expired in June 2024, gave authorities wide powers of arrest and suspended due process of law. Hundreds of people were subsequently arrested, including several journalists with a record of covering the Amhara conflict.
AMC reported extensively on the conflict, airing interviews with civilians about its impact and with Fano militiamen. In one report, Abay described it as a freedom struggle.
Abay was held at the federal police detention center in Addis Ababa for several weeks and then transferred to a military camp in Awash Arba, some 240 kilometers (145 miles) east, according to Zoma and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, a statutory watchdog. CPJ could not determine Abay’s exact transfer date.
In January 2024, Abay was returned to Addis Ababa’s federal police detention center, Zoma told CPJ.
On March 27, the federal ministry of justice filed charges against Abay and 51 other people, including opposition politicians and Fano leaders, according to a charge sheet, reviewed by CPJ, and Abay’s lawyer Henok Aklilu.
The charge sheet accused Abay of violating the Proclamation on Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism, which stipulates that those found guilty of "terrorizing or spreading fear among the public" to advance “political, religious, or ideological causes” can be given the death penalty.
Prosecutors alleged that Abay conspired with others to forcibly remove the government from power and accepted missions from the Amhara Fano Unity Council — a group prosecutors described as a "terrorist organization" — to disseminate its message. Prosecutors accused Abay of providing media coverage of terrorist acts and sharing social media content that incited people to riot and strike, without detailing the incidents he allegedly incited.
The charge sheet alleged that on July 29, 2023, Abay received a text message from an unidentified person, titled “Gonder Fano Amhara Statement,” calling on Amhara people, associations, fighters, and the Fano to prepare for “the final beginning of an all-inclusive struggle,” which he disseminated via his outlet.
The prosecutors also said that on August 9, 2023, Abay received a text message from an unidentified person calling for “Victory to Amhara Fano,” which said a number of vehicles had entered Dejen town in Amhara region and urged the recipient to exercise caution and to forward the message to 20 people.
Authorities said the message was about military movements and that Abay “obstruct[ed]” the peace keeping process and “enabl[ed]” attacks by receiving and disseminating it “to the terrorist group,” without identifying who Abay allegedly forwarded the message to.
Prosecutors also accused Abay of providing news coverage of damage inflicted on government offices and security forces, and of conducting live interviews with Fano members.
On June 7, the defense presented their preliminary objections to the charges: the broad allegations lacked specificity as to the damage Abay and his 51 co-defendants were accused of causing, and failed to demonstrate links between the accused. The defense also argued that the allegations against Abay did not amount to criminal offenses.
In July, the Federal High Court ordered the prosecutor to respond to these objections and amend the charge sheet. The prosecutor appealed this order to the Federal Supreme Court.
On October 21, the Federal High Court told Abay and his co-defendants that proceedings had been suspended pending a ruling on the prosecutor’s appeal, according to Henok and Addis Ababa-based Asham TV.
Authorities previously detained Abay in 2021 for 12 days, in 2022 for 24 days on allegations of disseminating false information, and in April 2023 for three weeks on allegations of inciting violence.
Ethiopia’s government spokesperson Legesse Tulu did not answer CPJ’s calls or respond to text messages in late 2024. Emails requesting comment from Ethiopia’s ministry of justice and its federal Government Communication Service were also unanswered.