The Livingston Awards
November 6, 2024
International Journalist Day – November 19, 2024
November 18, 2024
Mon 18 November @7pm
Ethiopian journalist Amir Aman Kiyaro was arrested for reporting on the civil war in his home country. Today he talks to former ambassador Brita Wagener about the consequences of the war, his time in prison and a country where the press continues to be suppressed. The event will be moderated by Wolfgang Krach, Süddeutsche Zeitung.
When a brutal civil war broke out in Ethiopia in 2020 between the central government in Addis Ababa and the forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the situation became particularly dangerous for journalists. President Abiy Ahmed rigorously suppressed news coverage. Nevertheless, journalist Amir Aman Kiyaro travelled to the war zone to report on the events. Upon his return, he was immediately arrested and accused of “terrorism” and “collaborating with the enemies of Ethiopia”.
Kiyaro later spoke out on his time in prison. Long interrogations, ill-treatment, catastrophic hygiene, a lack of places to sleep and inadequate food characterised his everyday life in prison. He was released on bail after four months and the charges were later dropped.
The number of victims of the civil war is still unknown today, as the Ethiopian government imposed a strict news blackout on the region. So how do Ethiopian journalists manage to bring the truth about the war to light?
Read more: https://koerber-stiftung.de/en/events/stimmen-der-freiheit-vom-kriegsreporter-zum-staatsfeind/