Bate Urgessa, a political officer with the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), and French journalist Antoine Galindo were detained on 22 February, 2024, by security forces in #Addis_Abeba.
Lemi Gemechu, spokesperson for the OLF, confirmed to Addis Standard that Bate was arrested Thursday afternoon after attending a meeting of Addis Abeba City Political Parties Joint Council. The OLF spokesperson further disclosed that Bate has not yet appeared in court.
Separately, the Committee to Protect Journalists (#CPJ) reported that Antoine Galindo, a journalist with Indigo Publications, was detained alongside Bate while conducting an interview.
“Antoine Galindo’s arrest is yet another example of the dismal press freedom record in Ethiopia, where at least another eight journalists are behind bars for their work and who must also be released urgently.” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program head.
