Gashaye Negusse

Gender: Male
All Journalist

At about 5:30 p.m. on May 19, Amhara police raided the studio of Ashara Media in the Amhara state capital of Bahir Dar and arrested five employees, according to news reports, Elias Debasu, the director of Ashara Media, and Blen Techane, the wife of journalist Gashaye Negusse, who spoke to CPJ by phone. During the raid, police did not show a warrant and confiscated office equipment, including laptops and external hard drives, Elias told CPJ. Blen, who was able to briefly visit the detained journalists, said they were transferred to a prison in the small northern town of Nefas Mewcha, about 185 kilometers (115 miles) from Bahir Dar, on the morning of May 20 and are now being detained without access to family or lawyers. Ashara Media recently covered the government’s crackdown on Fano, an armed militia in Amhara state, the detention of government critics, and a public demonstration about housing concerns, according to CPJ’s review.

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