Concern as French journalist is detained in Ethiopia

Dar es Salaam. A 36-year-old French journalist on a reporting assignment in Ethiopia has been arrested and detained by the country's authorities, it has been reported.

 On Thursday, February 22, at 3:55 pm local time, plainclothes security officers are said to have arrested Antoine Galindo, who works for the Paris-based Africa Intelligence (AI) news website, at the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

In a letter asking for his immediate release, the journalist's employer, Africa Intelligence, which is published by Indigo Publications Group, said that Galindo is being detained at the Addis Ababa Police Commission in the Bole district.

They further say that Galindo arrived in Addis Ababa on February 13 to cover an African Union summit as well as Ethiopian news.

It is reported that the French national, who has lived and worked in Ethiopia before (between 2013 and 2017), is suspected of a conspiracy to create chaos in the country and was brought before a judge on February 24. His detention has been extended until March 1, when the next hearing will be held.

"These spurious accusations are not based on any tangible evidence that might justify this extended deprivation of liberty. Antoine Galindo, a journalist known to the Ethiopian Media Authority had informed the Ethiopian authorities of his assignment in the country and had a visa authorizing him to work there as a journalist," Africa Intelligence says in a letter asking for his immediate release.

The Citizen reached out to Africa Intelligence's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya, Mr. Noe Michalon, for his views on the detention of his colleague. "Antoine [Galindo] is a very rigorous and professional journalist, from whom I've learned a lot since I started working for Africa Intelligence in 2022," he opened up. Michalon, who works under Galindo in the East Africa bureau, says, "I know how he works. I know he did everything right and cannot understand his arrest."

According to Michalon, who has worked closely with the detained journalist, Galindo has never been detained anywhere. "His record as a journalist is impeccable," Michalon said.

CPJ reports that at the time of his arrest, Galindo was interviewing Bate Urgessa, a spokesperson for a registered opposition party, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). The rights group says that Bate was also detained.

According to CPJ, they were informed by Galindo's lawyer that the police have yet to provide any substantive evidence for the claim raised against Galindo.

However, Ethiopia says it is detaining the journalist because he violated his terms of accreditation.

A spokesperson from the Ethiopian government told the Nation that Galindo’s accreditation restricted him to cover the summit and side events.

“The Ethiopian Media Authority (EMA) has not issued any other permit to cover other local issues,” the spokesperson told the Nation on Monday.

Africa Intelligence publishers, Indigo Publications, expressed their outrage at the detention of their journalist. "We are outraged by his unjustified arrest, which is also a serious attack on

press freedom," they said and called on the Ethiopian authorities to urgently release Antoine Galindo.

Ethiopia is known for its massive crackdown on the media. In 2022, it was reported that 18 journalists were arrested in 10 days. The country's authorities said that journalists were arrested because they were "working to create inter-ethnic and inter-religious strife, as well as spoil the country's peace and security."

International rights groups such as Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists have often called for the protection of journalists' rights and media freedom.