BBC Amharic – Health Professional Association President and three doctors arrested
- AAA-admin
- May 13
- 4 min read
Disclaimer: This is an English translation of an Amharic article taken from BBC Amharic and is intended solely for information purposes.
BBC Amharic – Health Professional Association President and three doctors arrested
May 12, 2025
The Ethiopian Health Professional Association’s President Ato Yonatan Dagnew and three doctors from Arba Minch General Hospital have been arrested by police.
In Addis Ababa city and in the Amhara and South Ethiopia Regions the number of health professionals arrested has reached five in the span of a few days. In Addis Ababa city another five health professionals were released after two days in detention.
The health professional association’s president Ato Yonatan who had expressed his support for recent demonstrations by health professionals, was arrested yesterday on May 11, 2025 (Ginbot 3, 2017 EC) association vice president Ato Meles Bata told BBC.
The association founded in 2015 EC had been led by Ato Yonatan who was a health professional in Bichena Primary Hospital in East Gojjam Zone of Amhara Region says Ato Meles.
According to the vice president Ato Yonatan was arrested in his residence on Sunday afternoon. “Before his arrest, the day before yesterday (Saturday) he had told me the police station located near the hospital he worked at and his neighborhood had called telling him he was wanted” says Ato Meles, and one day after this he was reportedly arrested.
Ato Meles says he had a short phone conversation with the association’s president and has heard he is currently in the police station and “has not faced many problems.” However, the phone conversation was cut short and they were unable to discuss why the association’s president was arrested or details behind his arrest.
Vice President Ato Melese told BBC he believes Ato Yonatan’s arrest was “related to the recent demonstration by health professionals.” Ato Melese said his reason for believing this was that both he and the association’s president both would receive “warnings.”
Ato Meles recalls how the association wrote letters calling for “an appropriate response” to questions raised by health professionals, “we firmly believe the arrest was in connection with questions raised by the association. It is possible the people who detained him could associate it with something else but that does not concern us.”
Ato Yonatan was not the only person “arrested in connection with” the announcement of demonstrations in response to improved salaries and other demands raised by health professionals for years. Last week on Friday, May 9, 2025 (Ginbot 1, 2017 EC) three doctors from Arba Minch General Hospital were arrested by police according to family members who spoke to BBC.
Among the arrested persons were Dr. Bernabas Samuel, Dr. Melaku Almaw and Dr. Habtamu Getachew were professors at Arba Minch University and doctors practicing in Arba Minch General Hospital. The health professionals were arrested on Friday after a group photo was shared on social media depicting them supporting the health professionals’ demonstration say family members.
One family member said, “after this in the afternoon the officials from Arba Minch General Hospital and Arba Minch University Referral Hospital, the three doctors, were called to the hospital.”
When the health professionals reached the area of the hospital “government officials and security forces” were present. The three doctors were suspected of “organizing the health professionals’ demonstration” and were detained in the Gamo Zone Police Station.
Arba Minch General Hospital executive director Dr. Ambachew Duma told BBC they had “spoken to and reached an agreement” with the health professionals, denying the arrest of the three doctors. The director told BBC “no one has been arrested.”
Four health professionals in Addis Ababa city were arrested after gathering in the health center to express their support for the demonstrations. Four health professionals working in a health station were arrested on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 (Miyazia 29, 2017 EC) in Nifas Silk Keraniyo sub-city in woreda two.
Among the arrested health professionals was public health professional Degnesh Tilahun who had worked for over 30 years. The health professional’s husband Qes Dawit Garuma told BBC that day health professionals had gathered for the demonstration to express their support.
Afterwards police officers took the health professionals from the health center and detained them at the police station in the Jemo Mikael area, according to family members of two health professionals who spoke to BBC.
The health professionals were released without appearing in court on the morning of Friday, May 9, 2025 (Ginbot 1, 2017 EC) on bail according to family members.
On Friday as the four health professionals were released, a pharmacist named Gebru Melak was arrested. Gebru, who worked in the woreda nine health station in Addis Ketema sub-city, was arrested as he was leaving work, according to a close friend who spoke to BBC on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
According to the source he is currently being held in the Fourth Police Station located in the Merkato area. Pharmacist Gebru was arrested among other health professionals reportedly after he had taken a group photo along with other health professionals in support of the health professionals’ demonstration.
Gebru who was arrested on Friday was brought before the Addis Ababa city First Instance Court the following day on Saturday, May 10 (Ginbot 2) according to a close friend. The investigative police had requested 12 days for investigations to which the court granted five.
Prior to Gebru’s arrest, a nurse midwife named Mikael Tsegaye had been arrested on Wednesday. Nurse midwife Mikael was released after two days of detention.
Similarly doctors which had been arrested in Agaro Hospital in Jimma Zone of Oromia Region were later released.
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