Genet Asmamaw was arrested on April 6, 2023, in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. She 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.
Genet was a reporter with YouTube-based Medlot Media, which covered political issues related to the Amhara people, according to her brother Andualem Demissie. The channel had over 100,000 subscribers in late 2023, according to CPJ’s review, but was no longer online by late 2024.
The five federal police officers who arrested Genet from her home beat and intimidated her, according to Andualem and her lawyer, Henok Aklilu.
In audio recorded during the arrest, published by several media outlets and authenticated by Henok, an officer said, “Beat her; kick her,” and Genet said, “Do not beat me. Why are you hitting me? Why are you kidnapping me without a court order?”
On April 7, 2023, Genet appeared at the Federal First Instance Court and was accused of inciting violence through social media and other platforms and mobilizing young people to overthrow the government, Henok said. Police were granted time to hold her in custody pending investigations.
Genet told the court that the police had abused her during her arrest, and the court ordered the federal police to investigate, Henok said. CPJ was unable to determine whether the investigation was carried out.
Genet 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 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 June 7, 2023, the federal ministry of justice filed charges against Genet and 50 other people, including three other journalists in CPJ’s 2024 prison census — Dawit Begashaw, Meskerem Abera, 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 said that Genet participated in meetings and discussions and received propaganda training from the Amhara Fano Unity Council, which they described as a “clandestine organization, which the defendants used to do their terrorist activities” by bringing together militant groups, including the Fano militia. They also said she distributed a letter calling on military officers to defect and edited and distributed propaganda via social media.
On July 19, 2023, Genet and her co-defendants were denied bail, according to Henok, and Genet 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, Genet 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.