Meseret Media - Thirteen youths still missing one year after being detained in Addis Ababa City
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Disclaimer: This is an English translation of an Amharic article taken from Meseret Media and is intended solely for information purposes.
Meseret Media - Thirteen youths still missing one year after being detained in Addis Ababa City
February 14, 2026 (Yekatit 7, 2018 EC)
(Meseret Media)- Tomorrow, February 15, 2026 (Yekatit 8, 2018 EC) marks one year since thirteen youths residing in Addis Ababa City went missing.
Family members say the youths were abducted by national army soldiers “after that day nobody saw our children” they say.
They went to the defense ministry’s head office explaining that their children were taken from their home by the national army and in response they were threatened and told “this is defamation against the military.”
“Without losing hope we went to the Tor Hayloch Midir Hayl compound where we reported that our children were taken by national defense forces wearing red berets. They detained us for two days in the building before releasing us” they told the media.
When the parents travelled to the Federal Police and Addis Ababa Police Commission main office to inquire about the disappearance of their children, however they were unable to receive an assuring response.
“Though it was the state body that took them [the children] from their homes saying they were wanted for questioning, they threatened us for asking about it, so who can we complain to?” asked the parents.
Among the missing detainees are Genet Aragie, Seyefe Tekle Giyorgis, Abel Alemneh, Keflom Habte, Surafel Biruk and Sebsibe Alemu.
At the time, Ethiopia Commercial Bank worker Amanuel Yemanebirhan was among the abducted youths.
The young man worked as an assistant manager at the Ethiopian Commercial Bank Lideta Branch. But on February 17, 2025 (Yekatit 10, 2017 EC) he was taken by unidentified persons from this branch and has been missing ever since according to information received by Meseret from friends and relatives.
His family members appealed to the House of People’s Representatives, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Justice Ministry, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, the police and the security bureau’s however they never received a response.
“We tried to notify all concerned bodies in writing but it was not possible to reach them, and for those we reached we never received a response” said family members explaining the young man’s two children are facing difficult circumstances.
It has been confirmed that Amanuel’s case was the second incident in the area, as two months prior to his arrest another bank manager at the commercial bank’s Lideta branch was taken away at 11:30 am while at work by masked persons.
Just like the case of the young Amanuel a significant number of citizens have been abducted in recent months, with some being members of the diaspora community which had to bribe security personnel to secure release based on findings from Meseret Media.
Some have been detained under “current circumstances” in connection with the situation in Amhara and Oromia Regions, while others were detained for weeks and months suffering in detention sites without charges under pretense of “until investigation is completed.”
“If they killed them we have the right to know the bitter truth so we can mourn with our families in our homes. How can we sleep in our homes while our children are missing?” This is what family members said to our media.
-Meseret Media-
