Press Leaders have called on authorities in Ethiopia to release all Detained Journalists who are have been arrested in the East-African country.
This call to release the detained journalists was made known in a joint statement issued by Jen Judson, president of the National Press Club, and Gil Klein, president of the National Press Club Journalism Institute.
“We call on the Ethiopian authorities to immediately release freelance video journalist Amir Aman Kiyaro, and his colleagues Thomas Engida and Temerat Negara who have been unjustly detained without any charges. Amir, who has reported on the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia for the Associated Press, has been held by the police for more than 100 days on allegations he violated the country’s state of emergency and anti-terrorism laws by interviewing members of the Oromo Liberation Army.
Essentially, the Ethiopian authorities are accusing him of doing journalism and as we’ve repeatedly stated: Journalism isn’t a crime. The foundations of a democracy such as Ethiopia’s rests on a free and independent news media where journalists are not persecuted for doing their jobs.”
The National Press Club, which was founded in 1908, is the world’s leading professional organisation for journalists.
The Club is a strong voice for press freedom in the United States and around the world, with 3,000 members representing practically every major news organisation.
The Journalism Institute of the National Press Club, a non-profit affiliate of the Club, fosters an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press and educates journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that encourage civic involvement.