Attacks on Deutsche Welle Underscore Broader Threat to the Independent Press
In the latest crackdown on media freedom in Ethiopia, Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany's international public broadcaster, said in a December 12 statement that the Ethiopian Media Authority had permanently suspended two of its journalists.
The Ethiopian Media Authority, a government agency that has the power to sanction news outlets operating inside the country, sent DW a letter on October 23 announcing the temporary suspension of "all journalistic activities" carried out by nine of its Ethiopia-based correspondents. In a follow-up letter DW received last week, the media authority lifted the suspension of seven correspondents but permanently suspended two who were covering the war-torn Amhara and Tigray regions, alleging their "continued noncompliance with Ethiopian laws and professional ethics."
In its statement in response to the suspensions, DW noted that the media authority did not provide specific examples of violations, but rather broadly alleged that the outlet's reporting violated the country's media and hate speech laws.
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Suspending these journalists underscores the Ethiopian government's hostility to independent scrutiny and critical reporting. For years, Ethiopian journalists have described the operating environment as one characterized by a climate of fear in which authorities regularly threatened, arrested, and detained them for publishing stories that exposed rights abuses or criticized the government. Dozens are now living in exile.
In the last five months alone, police have arrested at least six Ethiopian journalists, some of whom were held incommunicado or in prolonged detention without charge. In April, the government enacted changes to the media law, increasing executive control over the Ethiopian Media Authority and empowering it to regulate media houses and journalists in violation of Ethiopia's regional and international obligations to uphold the right to freedom of expression.
The government's move against DW will no doubt have a chilling effect on the country's remaining space for independent media.
With ongoing armed conflicts in the Amhara and Oromia regions, growing hostility between the federal government and Tigrayan authorities as well as with neighboring Eritrea, and elections slated for June 2026, the need for critical, independent reporting has never been greater. The Ethiopian government should reverse course, urgently lift the suspension of the DW journalists, and end further attacks on the media.
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Mausi Segun, Executive Director, Africa
