An Ethiopian journalist, Tesfa-Alem Tekle, has been released from detention 77 days after he was arrested for allegedly violating reporting rules on the Tigray conflict.
Tekle, a journalist with Nation Media Group, was freed on Saturday afternoon along with several dozens of people, including professionals and journalists who allegedly committed a similar offence.
Tekle said he felt relieved to be out of detention, especially after a court had freed him on bail but the police authorities refused to enforce it.
“I am excited to be out free. It is the best day of my life,” he said.
No specific reasons were given for the release of the dozens, but the move follows Addis Ababa’s announcement of a new policy to build a national dialogue consensus. Eight high-profile detainees, considered rivals to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, were among several hundreds of political prisoners freed last week in Ethiopia.
At the time of his arrest on October 31, he was accused of sympathizing with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a former ruling party that is now considered a terrorist organization. Those accusations were denied by the correspondent.
Authorities added new charges in December, alleging that he provided information to international media groups, particularly Nation Media Group, by phone while in detention.
The Ethiopian trial magistrate released him on bail of 1000 Birr (about $20.45) when he was first brought before the court, but security agencies in Ethiopia refused to free him. He was later transferred to a detention facility created under the controversial state of emergence policy issued in October, allegedly to contain the surge of the TPLF.
Nation Media Group petitioned the Ethiopian government a month after the reporter was detained over concerns about his health and safety.
Mutuma Mathiu, NMG’s Editorial director, appealed to the authorities, in a letter to the country’s Ministry of Justice and sent to the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, about where he is and under what circumstances he is being held.
The Ethiopian government and the Commission, however, did not respond to the Nation.
