Ethiopia detains Addis Standard editor and raids newsroom in crackdown on independent media

On August 1, 2026, Yonas Kedir, editor‑in‑chief of the independent newspaper Addis Standard, was seized by men in civilian clothing, beaten, blindfolded and held for about 24 hours. He was interrogated about the outlet’s reporting and released after his blindfold was removed; the vehicle used bore military licence plates.

The next day security and intelligence forces raided the Addis Standard’s offices, confiscating and destroying video‑production equipment and issuing an eviction notice. This follows a similar incident in April when managing editor Million Beyene was held for two weeks, and a February revocation of the paper’s licence by the Ethiopian Media Authority, which the outlet is contesting in court. The actions are part of a broader pattern of arrests, licence revocations and warnings to other independent broadcasters, signalling an escalating assault on media freedom in Ethiopia.