Ethiopia’s Addis Standard editor Yonas Kedir allegedly abducted as rights groups warn of media crackdown
The editor-in-chief of a leading Ethiopian independent news site was abducted and assaulted by security forces, according to its owner.
Yonas Kedir, editor-in-chief of the Addis Standard, an independent news site in Ethiopia, was reportedly abducted and physically assaulted by security forces last Saturday. The abduction and subsequent 24-hour detention, followed by prolonged interrogation, were detailed by Jakken Publishing, the news site's owner, in a statement on Thursday.
This incident occurred alongside a raid on the news site's offices, during which Jakken Publishing reported the confiscation of multimedia equipment. The Addis Standard's offices were subsequently ordered to vacate within three days, marking the end of the site's 16-year presence at the location. Rights organizations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists and Human Rights Watch, have condemned these actions as part of a broader pattern of targeting independent media outlets in Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian government has not commented on the matter. In February, the government revoked the Addis Standard's media registration, citing violations of media ethics and threats to national interests, though the specific reports in question were never disclosed. Despite this, the news site continued its operations, challenging the revocation in court.
The abduction reportedly took place on the first day of a three-day series of actions against the Addis Standard. Yonas, in a statement quoted by the AFP news agency, described being violently seized by two individuals in civilian clothes, struck, and forcibly loaded into a double-cab pickup truck, who accused him of "selling the country out."
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