Abiy Ahmed
Criticism
Criticism
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Abiy's government was accused of [authoritarianism](/wiki/Authoritarianism "Authoritarianism") and restricting [freedom of the press](/wiki/Freedom_of_the_press "Freedom of the press"), especially since the start of the Tigray War. Numerous watchdogs and human rights groups accused Abiy's government of "increasingly intimidating" the media as well as harassing opponents to propel unrest. In 2019 [World Press Freedom Index](/wiki/World_Press_Freedom_Index "World Press Freedom Index"), Ethiopia improved the rank by jumping forty positions from 150 to 110 out of 180 countries. In 2021, 46 journalists were detained, making Ethiopia the worst jailers in Africa. Journalist Gobeze Sisay was arrested by unknown plainclothes officers in his home on 1 May. On 3 May, the [Ethiopian Human Rights Commission](/wiki/Ethiopian_Human_Rights_Commission "Ethiopian Human Rights Commission") (EHRC) released statement about Gobez Sisay's whereabout. Similarly, the founder of [Terara Network](/wiki/Terara_Network "Terara Network") was arrested in Addis Ababa on 10 December 2021 in allegation of "disseminating misinformation", which was transferred to [Sabata](/wiki/Sabata_%28town%29 "Sabata (town)") Daliti police station in [Oromia Special Zone](/wiki/Oromia_Special_Zone_Surrounding_Finfinne "Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Finfinne"). He was released on 5 April 2022 with bail of 50,000 Ethiopian birr.

### Blockade of the Tigray region

In August 2021, [USAID](/wiki/United_States_Agency_for_International_Development "United States Agency for International Development") accused Abiy's government of "obstructing" access to Tigray. In early October 2021, nearly a year after the [Tigray War](/wiki/Tigray_War "Tigray War") started, [Mark Lowcock](/wiki/Mark_Lowcock "Mark Lowcock"), who led [OCHA](/wiki/United_Nations_Office_for_the_Coordination_of_Humanitarian_Affairs "United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs") during part of the Tigray War, stated that the government of Abiy Ahmed was [deliberately starving Tigray](/wiki/Famine_in_the_Tigray_War%23Claims_of_intent "Famine in the Tigray War#Claims of intent"), "running a sophisticated campaign to stop aid getting in" and that there was "not just an attempt to starve six million people but an attempt to cover up what's going on." [WHO](/wiki/World_Health_Organization "World Health Organization") Director\-General [Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus](/wiki/Tedros_Adhanom_Ghebreyesus "Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus") called the blockade by Ethiopia "an insult to our humanity".


What happened to the founder of Terara Network in April 2022?