Ethiopia: CFWIJ Condemns Luwam Atikilti’s Arrest, Demands Immediate Release

Luwam Atikilti, a reporter for Ahadu Radio & TV, was arrested from her workplace on October 22. According to her lawyer, Abebaw Abebe, Luwam was arrested from the news organization’s office in Addis Ababa at around 4pm. The police subsequently arrested another Ahadu Radio & TV journalist, Kibrom Worku, after summoning him on October 26. Both journalists have been in detention since then. The arrests came after the channel aired an interview of an official, who spoke about the takeover of Hayk town in Amhara by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), a rebel group that's been long engaged in a war with the federal government. The official’s claims were allegedly false. The channel later retracted the interview and issued a public apology as well. But this did not stop the authorities from proceeding against the journalists. The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns these arrests. We are concerned for Luwam and her colleague’s safety and demand their immediate release. Ethiopian authorities must end their crackdown on journalists covering the ongoing war.