Police took journalist Abebe Fikir, a reporter with the Ethiopian weekly newspaper The Reporter, into custody on April 23, 2025. Abebe told CPJ that he was seeking comment from city officials about a housing dispute but the police accused him of filming without permission - an allegation he denied. On April 25, he was released on bail of 10,000 birr (US$75), without charge.
CPJ did not receive any responses to queries sent via email and messaging app to the federal police and government spokesperson Legesse Tulu.