Police arrested Fisseha, editor in chief of the Amharic-language independent weekly newspaper Tarik, and held him at the Ma’ekelawi Central Criminal Investigation Office.
Authorities would not provide an explanation for Fisseha’s arrest, but local journalists believe it was in connection with an article published in Tarik on January 31 which reported that Ethiopian orthodox monks from the Tigray region were engaged in cannabis production. Fisseha was later transported to the Addis Ababa Central Prison, where he is currently being held.