Photo: Collage ©Addis Standard
Addis Abeba — In what activists are calling another wave of pressure on dissenting voices, Ethiopian security forces have detained two members of the opposition Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP) along with a lawyer widely known for defending political prisoners.
Yishak Wolday, the EPRP’s head of public relations, was picked up from his residence on August 3 by security personnel in civilian clothes. His whereabouts were initially unknown, and the party’s secretary general said authorities first denied he was in custody before later confirming it. Abebe Akalu, an EPRP member recognized for his outspoken commentary on national affairs, was taken from his home the following morning under similarly unclear circumstances.
Also detained was Abera Nigus, a lawyer well known in Addis Abeba for representing political detainees, including former State Minister for Peace Taye Dendea, who was jailed in 2023 shortly after publicly criticizing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Abera’s family said he was arrested from his home on August 3, with police confiscating two cellphones. Police searched Abebe Akalu’s residence, but not Abera’s.
Authorities have not issued a public statement explaining the arrests, and no court appearance had been reported at the time of writing. The EPRP has said the men were taken for engaging in peaceful political activity and has demanded their immediate release, stating that expressing opinions and organizing through non-violent means is not a crime.
The party’s secretary general described the arrests as part of a recurring pattern in which the government moves against opposition leaders, activists, and journalists whenever conflict flares elsewhere in the country, arguing it reflects a shrinking space for peaceful political struggle. She warned that closing off peaceful avenues risks pushing more people toward armed resistance instead.
Police have separately alleged, in a filing to the Federal High Court, that the men were involved in a plot to seize power by force and have requested a 14-day extension of their remand. The EPRP disputes that characterization and maintains the men’s activities were lawful and peaceful.
The detentions come as Ethiopia faces renewed fighting between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and federal forces near the Sudan border, continued conflict in the Amhara region now in its fourth year, and a national dialogue process that major opposition parties and diaspora groups have rejected as lacking neutrality and genuine inclusion.
Source: Borkena (August 4, 2026); additional detail from Addis Standard (August 5, 2026).
