On May 24, 2019, privately owned Ahadu Radio assigned journalist Tamrat Abera to follow a resident’s complaint in Sendafa town, and Oromia authorities later arrested him after a court warrant from the Oromia State Court president.
The case became an early test of whether Ethiopia’s reform-era press opening would protect reporters who covered local grievances in Oromia.
Kept as press-freedom archive, the Tamrat Abera arrest dates how quickly journalism could still collide with regional police power in 2019.
Sources: Mereja draft / Ahadu Radio case file