Reuters cameraman Kumerra Gemechu was arrested in Ethiopia’s capital of Addis Ababa on Thursday.
His family has said he will be in detention for at least two weeks in order for police to investigate him. Kumerra has not been charged.
The 38-year-old has been a freelance cameraman for Reuters for nearly a decade and has been part of the outlet’s coverage of Ethiopia’s conflict in the African nation’s Tigray region.
“Kumerra is part of a Reuters team that reports from Ethiopia in a fair, independent and unbiased way. Kumerra’s work demonstrates his professionalism and impartiality, and we are aware of no basis for his detention,” Reuters Editor-in-Chief Stephen Adler said in a Monday statement. “Journalists must be allowed to report the news in the public interest without fear of harassment or harm, wherever they are. We will not rest until Kumerra is freed.”
On Thursday evening, 10 federal officers visited the man’s home and took him away in front of his wife and three children, according to his wife. She said his daughter tried to cling to him as he was led away.
Government officials did not confirm to Reuters whether his coverage was the reason for his arrest. On Nov. 23, the Ethiopian Broadcasting Authority released a statement on Facebook accusing international news outlets, including Reuters, of “false” and “unbalanced” coverage of the conflict.
Reuters said in a separate statement, “We stand by our reporting on the conflict in the Tigray region and will continue to report on Ethiopia with integrity, independence, and freedom from bias, as we do all around the world.”
This isn’t the first Reuters journalist to be confronted by Ethiopian officials. Reuters photographer Tiksa Negeri was beaten on Dec. 16 by two federal officers, the outlet said.
Ethiopian government forces have been fighting against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, the ruling party in the region, since early November when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed accused it of attacking federal officials.
