The editor-in-chief of Ethiopia’s prominent independent news site, Addis Standard, was abducted and held by security forces last weekend, the site’s publisher Jakken Publishing reported on Thursday.
According to the publisher, Yonas Kedir was taken last Saturday by two men in civilian clothes, held for 24 hours, and subjected to what they called “prolonged interrogation.” In a statement carried by AFP, Yonas said he was assaulted and forced into a pickup truck, with his captors accusing him of “selling the country out.”
The incident kicked off a three-day crackdown on the outlet. On Sunday, August 2, a security team entered the Addis Standard offices without a warrant and seized equipment from its multimedia studio. The next day, police delivered an eviction notice giving the company three days to leave its premises, ending 16 years at that location.
The government has not commented on the BBC’s request for a response.
The pressure on Addis Standard is not new. In February, authorities revoked its media license, alleging violations of ethics and threats to “national interests,” though they did not cite specific stories. The site kept publishing while challenging the decision in court. Its website remains online and is posting updates about the raid.
Rights organizations say the case fits a wider pattern. The Committee to Protect Journalists called it an “alarming escalation” in efforts to shut down one of Ethiopia’s last major independent newsrooms. Human Rights Watch said the harassment reflects a broader push to silence critical coverage, noting that dozens of journalists have been arbitrarily arrested or had licenses revoked in the past year.
The Ethiopian Media Authority has also recently issued final warnings to independent broadcasters Arts TV and Ahadu FM, threatening to suspend or revoke their licenses over alleged repeated violations.
