French journalist detained in Ethiopia freed

Addis Ababa. A French journalist arrested last week in Ethiopia on suspicion of conspiring to create chaos was released on Thursday, his employer, the specialist publication Africa Intelligence, said.

Antoine Galindo was "freed after a week in prison and was able to leave Addis Ababa to return to Paris," Paul Deutschmann, an editor-in-chief at the publication, told AFP.

Galindo, who heads the publication's East Africa section, had travelled to Ethiopia to cover the African Union summit earlier this month and was arrested on February 22.

Authorities accused the 36-year-old reporter of conspiring "to create chaos" in the country.

"I'm well and I'm in good health," he told AFP before leaving Addis Ababa.

"I've been treated well," he added, despite what he described as difficult conditions in detention.

Deutschmann said Galindo's release was a "real relief" to the entire staff of Africa Intelligence, who were eager to be reunited with him.

Galindo was arrested at a hotel in Addis Ababa while meeting an official from the opposition Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) party.

He was brought before a judge on Saturday, who ordered his detention be extended until March 1.

Selamawit Kassa, a spokeswoman for Ethiopia's government, said Wednesday that Galindo had been given permission to cover the African Union summit.

But he had "engaged in activities in total contradiction with the reason for his visit, in particular collecting information related to internal political affairs," she added.

The OLF renounced armed struggle in 2018, prompting the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) to split from the party.

Federal forces have been fighting OLA rebels in Ethiopia's most populous region Oromia ever since, while peace talks have failed to yield meaningful progress.

'Hostility towards independent journalism'

Media watchdogs urged the government to release Galindo, with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) saying Monday that his "unjust arrest highlights the atrocious environment for the press in general in Ethiopia".

On Friday, the CPJ said Galindo's release "is great news" and called on Ethiopian authorities to release all other journalists in detention.

According to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), as of January 1 this year, 15 journalists were in prison in Ethiopia.

"Hostility towards independent journalism seeking to cover all national issues is growing and foreign media and journalists are also in the sights of the authorities," said Sadibou Marong, director of RSF's Sub-Saharan Africa desk.

In 2023, Ethiopia ranked 130th in the world in terms of press freedom, down 16 places compared to 2022, according to the NGO.

Ethiopia has expelled several foreign journalists since the end of 2020.

But until Galindo's detention, authorities had not arrested a foreign journalist in more than three years.

In July 2020, a Kenyan journalist was detained for more than a month in Addis Ababa, despite an Ethiopian court ordering his release on bail.

State of emergency

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was hailed as a reformer when he came to power in 2018 after decades of authoritarian rule. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for his rapprochement with neighbouring Eritrea.

But his reputation has taken a hit in recent years, with UN investigators accusing his government of crimes against humanity during a two-year war in Tigray -- claims rejected by the authorities.

The government imposed a state of emergency in Ethiopia's second most populous region Amhara in August after fighting erupted between federal authorities and a regional "self-defence" militia named Fano.

The decree, which was extended earlier this month, allows the authorities to declare curfews and for suspects to be searched and held without a warrant.

The fighting in Amhara reignited concerns about Ethiopia's stability, a few months after a peace deal ended a brutal two-year conflict in the northernmost region of Tigray between Tigrayan rebel authorities and forces loyal to Abiy.