REUTERS/Radu Sigheti
- Sisay Fida, an Ethiopian broadcast journalist, was shot and killed in May.
- His death adds to the list of at least 2,000 journalists killed since the 1990s, according to the US Embassy.
- Over 80% of journalist killings worldwide have impunity, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Broadcast journalist Sisay Fida was shot and killed in Dembi Dollo, Ethiopia, on May 9, 2021. His death adds to a lengthening list of journalists who have been killed since the early 1990s.
Fida, a reporter and a coordinator for Oromia Broadcasting Network, was shot near his residence after attending a wedding, according to reports by the US Embassy and the Committee to Protect Journalists.
According to CJR, 1,992 journalists have been killed since 1992 as of November 2, 2021.
"The killing of Ethiopian journalist Sisay Fida not only silences one voice but also sends a devastating message about the dangers facing journalists throughout the country," CPJ's sub-Saharan Africa representative, Muthoki Mumo, said in a press statement. "Authorities can reassure journalists working in Ethiopia of their safety by carrying out a credible investigation into Sisay's killing, and delivering justice through a fair and transparent process."
CJR reported that, according to a Facebook post by OBN, citing a spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, and an unnamed source from OBN who spoke to CJR, Fida was receiving death threats because of the scope of his work.
"I condemn the murder of Sisay Fida. Violence against journalists represents a criminal threat to press freedom and to the fundamental human right of freedom of expression," Audrey Azoulay, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Director-General, said in a press statement the day of his death.
Deputy Director of Peace and Security for the United Nations in Ethiopia, Ahmed Yassin, whose district includes the Dembi Dollo area, said that he believed Aba Torbe - an assassination group believed to be involved with the Oromo Liberation Army, which has recently seized a city and was banned from the country until 2018 - killed Fida "because he was well known in the community and worked for the regional government," according to CPJ.
CPJ also reports that Fida was working on a report "about public opinion concerning the Ethiopian federal parliament's May 5 classification of the Oromo Liberation Army as a terrorist organization."
Oromia Broadcasting Network, Ethiopian Media Authority, and CPJ did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Upon his 2018 election, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had freed journalists and other media workers that had been arrested, leading journalists to think that freedom of the press was restored, according to Reuters.
However, three members of the media, including a journalist named Dessu Dulla, were arrested last year for covering the arrest of an activist in Oromia, the region in Ethiopia where Fida was killed. They were held for three months despite not having been charged, Reuters reported.