According to authorities and the country's media regulator, an Associated Press freelance video journalist and two other local journalists have been detained in Ethiopia.
Federal police charged the journalists late Wednesday with "supporting terrorism" by interviewing members of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), a group recognized as a terrorist organization by parliament.
The Associated Press reported that its freelancer, Amir Aman Kiyaro, was held on November 28 while coming home from a reporting expedition amid the country's war-torn state of emergency. He has not been charged, according to the report.
"These are unsubstantiated charges. Kiyaro is an independent journalist who has contributed significantly to the Ethiopian debate on both sides," AP executive editor Julie Pace said in a statement. "We urge the Ethiopian authorities to promptly free Kiyaro."
According to the police statement, the other journalists held are independent cameraman Thomas Engida and Addisu Muluneh of the state-owned Fana Broadcasting network.
Admasu Damtew, Fana's CEO, declined to comment, stating that Addisu's detention "had nothing to do with us." He made no further explanations.
Federal police inspector Tesfaye Olani told state media that the journalists might face up to 15 years in prison for violating Ethiopia's state of emergency and antiterrorism laws.
