Associated Press journalist Amir Aman Kiyaro was released bail April 1 after being imprisoned in Ethiopia for four months without a charge.
Kiyaro, a 30-year-old Ethiopian freelance video journalist who has been accredited to AP, was freed April 1. Ethiopia's Supreme Court rejected a police effort to block his release, upholding the ruling to release him on bail, according to an April 1 AP article.
"We welcome the release on bail of Ethiopian @AP journalist Amir Aman Kiyaro, who has been imprisoned without charge for four months. Now, we urge Ethiopian courts to respect the rights of all who independently report on the conflict," the State Department said April 2 on Twitter.
Kiyaro was first detained Nov. 28, 2021, in Addis Ababa by the country's war-related state of emergency powers, according to the AP article. He has been accused of “serving the purposes” of a group the Ethiopian government has labeled a terrorist organization by interviewing the group's leaders.
"So pleased that AP-accredited freelancer Amir Aman Kiyaro has been released on bail in Ethiopia. But his case isn't over, and we continue to call on Ethiopian authorities to end their baseless investigation," Julie Pace, executive editor of the AP, said April 1 on Twitter.
A local journalist, Thomas Engida, was also arrested at the same time and faces similar charges. Engida has also been released in bail, the AP reported.
If either of the journalists are found guilty of violating Ethiopia's anti-terrorism laws or the state of emergency law, they could face seven to 15 years of jail time. It remains uncertain whether prosecutors will still press charges, according to the AP article.
