Dawit Begashaw, co-founder of Arat Kilo Media, was arrested on April 12, 2023, in Bahir Dar, capital of the Amhara region. He was charged with terrorism in June 2023. 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.
In December 2022, Dawit co-founded Arat Kilo Media, a YouTube-based news channel, which had over 18,000 subscribers as of late 2024, and was also the outlet’s chief editor and a commentator, according to CPJ's review. No new videos have been published on the channel since the journalist’s detention. In addition, Dawit is a board member of the Ethiopian Mass Media Professionals Association, a member-based advocacy group, according to its Facebook page.
Ethiopian National Defense Force soldiers arrested Dawit while he was with friends at a Bahir Dar hotel, according to news reports and his lawyer Henok Aklilu, who spoke to CPJ. The following day, Dawit was taken to the federal police detention center in Addis Ababa, Henok said.
Dawit was among at least eight journalists and media workers arrested that month over allegations that included inciting violence. Five were later released.
The arrests followed 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.
On April 28, 2023, the Federal First Instance Court granted Dawit bail but the police did not release him, according to Henok.
On June 7, 2023, the federal ministry of justice filed charges against Dawit and 50 other people, including three other journalists in CPJ’s 2024 Prison Census — Meskerem Abera, Genet Asmamaw and Gobeze Sisay — according to a charge sheet reviewed by CPJ.
The charge sheet accused the journalists 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 Dawit participated in discussions and meetings of the Amhara Fano Unity Council, a “clandestine organization, which the defendants used to do their terrorist activities” with the intent of forcibly removing the government from power. It accused Dawit of being part of the organization’s intellectual wing, receiving propaganda training, creating a WhatsApp group to distribute propaganda, supervising distribution of false reports meant to incite the public, and directing public protests.
In videos published by Arat Kilo Media before his detention, Dawit criticized Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and spoke out against the federal government’s disbandment of the Amhara Regional Special Force, according to CPJ's review in October 2023. The videos have since been made private.
On July 19, 2023, Dawit and his co-defendants were denied bail, following a new application for release, according to Henok, and Dawit was transferred to the capital’s Kaliti federal maximum security prison the following day.
In October and November 2023, the defendants’ application for their case to be dismissed as politically motivated was rejected, Henok said.
From December 2023 to March 2024, the proceedings were suspended pending a Supreme Court ruling on whether some defendants could be tried in absentia, Henok said. It ruled in favor.
In May, the proceedings were suspended again pending a Supreme Court ruling on a preliminary objection by the defense, demanding that the charge sheet be amended to include specific facts, including details on the damage and violent incidents that the defendants were alleged to have committed or incited, Henok said.
On November 12, the prosecution filed an amended charge sheet naming the people allegedly affected by the incidents, without detailing those incidents. On November 14, Dawit appeared before the federal court alongside other co-defendants and pleaded not guilty. The court adjourned the trial to mid-December when prosecution witnesses were expected to begin testifying.
Ethiopia government spokesperson Legesse Tulu did not answer CPJ’s calls or text messages in late 2024. Emails requesting comment from Ethiopia’s ministry of justice and its federal Government Communication Service were also unanswered.