ADDIS ABABA, Aug 21, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Ethiopian authorities must 
"unconditionally release" two arrested journalists, media watchdogs said 
Thursday, criticising the country's increasingly "hostile environment" for 
reporters.

The sprawling African nation is regularly criticised by rights groups for the 
repression of dissenting voices, and has seen a surge in detentions of 
journalists in recent months.

Abdulsemed Mohamed, who hosts a business program on the privately-owned Ahadu 
Radio, disappeared on August 11 in the capital, Addis Ababa.

Three days later he was seen "accompanying police officers who raided his 
office," the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said, citing a relative.

Yonas Amare, a senior editor with The Reporter newspaper, was "abducted by a 
group of masked individuals" on August 13 from his home in the city, his 
employer said.

"Eyewitnesses told us he was taken away by government security forces," a 
journalist with the outlet told AFP, requesting anonymity, adding that the 
government had not responded to their requests for news of their colleague.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) told AFP it was deeply concerned by 
journalists' arrests, as well "the silence of the authorities, who have not 
yet officially provided information on the reasons and conditions of their 
arrest".

RSF sub-Saharan Africa director Sadibou Marong urged authorities to provide 
information on the two, and to "release them immediately".

"Attacks on press freedom and the practice of journalism have increased in 
recent months," he said.

Police have not yet responded to AFP's requests for comment.

The east African giant of around 130 million people ranks 145th out of 180 
countries in RSF's 2025 press freedom index, which cites "widespread self-
censorship".

Three reporters from an English-language daily were detained in April, and 
seven others from a broadcaster were arrested the previous month.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who came to power in 2018, was initially 
hailed for his openness.

But rights groups have increasingly criticised a crackdown on freedom of 
speech in the country.