Addis Ababa, September 29 (Darfur24)
Ethiopian authorities have arrested Sudanese journalist Haitham Osman in Addis Ababa and taken him to an undisclosed location, according to the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate, which called for his immediate release.
In an urgent statement on Tuesday, the syndicate said Osman, a member of its council, and two companions were arrested on a street near their residence. It said the authorities had not disclosed the reasons for their arrest or where they were being held.
The syndicate expressed concern for their safety and called on Ethiopian authorities to disclose their whereabouts, allow them to communicate with their families and lawyers, and guarantee their legal rights.
It said Osman had been living in Ethiopia after fleeing Sudan because of the war and denied that he had committed any offense warranting his arrest.
The syndicate called on the Sudanese embassy in Ethiopia to intervene and urged press freedom, human rights and humanitarian organizations to press for the journalist’s release.
It also urged Ethiopia to uphold its obligations under international human rights law and domestic protections for freedom of expression and the press.
The syndicate described the detention of journalists without publicly stated reasons as a threat to press freedom and called for urgent action over Osman’s case.