French journalist Antoine Galindo, detained for a week in Ethiopia, has been released

French journalist Antoine Galindo, imprisoned for a week in Ethiopia, was released on Friday March 1 and is on his way to France, his employer, the specialist publication Africa Intelligence, announced to AFP. “I’m fine, I’m in good health” And “I was treated well”, despite difficult detention conditions, Antoine Galindo told an AFP journalist before his departure. His release “is a real relief for the entire Africa Intelligence editorial team who can’t wait to find Antoine again”declared to AFP Paul Deutschmann, editor-in-chief at Africa Intelligence.

The 36-year-old journalist was arrested on February 22 in a hotel in the center of Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), in the company of an official of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), a legally registered opposition party, with whom he had an appointment. The latter is still incarcerated. The French journalist appeared two days later before a judge who ordered his continued detention. At the hearing, the police announced that they suspected the journalist of “conspire to create chaos” in Ethiopia.

Africa Intelligence denounced “false accusations” Who “are not based on any tangible element” and an “unjustified arrest”. Antoine Galindo, head of the East Africa section, arrived in Ethiopia on February 13 to cover the African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, headquarters of the pan-African organization. This had issued him with accreditation. On Wednesday, Selamawit Kassa, Ethiopian Secretary of State for Communications, said the journalist had been arrested for overstepping his accreditation. He had collected illegally “information on internal political matters” to Ethiopia, she estimated.