Abdulsemed Mohammed, host of the business program Kidame Gebeya on Ahadu Radio 94.3, and Yonas Amare, senior editor and producer at The Ethiopian Reporter, were released after being abducted earlier in August.
Yonas Amare was taken on August 13, 2025, from his home in the Koye Feche area, Sheger City, by masked individuals in military-style uniforms. Witnesses reported that the assailants confiscated residents’ phones to prevent filming and warned them to remain silent.
Abdulsemed Mohammed was abducted on August 11, 2025, in Addis Ababa’s Haile Garment area. On August 14, he was seen accompanying police officers during a search of his office in the Haya Hulet Mazoria neighborhood. At the time, his whereabouts were unknown, and his family received no information despite checking with city police stations and federal authorities.
No information has emerged on whether the journalists were physically attacked, or by whom they were abducted.
Abiy continues to engage in dirty tactics to create fear at the risk of appearing not in control of his government. Can someone reading my comments point out statements the two journalists may have published that resulted in Abiy’s action?