Ethiopia / Africa

Nairobi, October 24, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Ethiopian Media Authority to immediately lift its license suspension of Deutsche Welle (DW) correspondents operating in the country, and to allow journalists to report freely and without intimidation. “This blatant suspension of Deutsche Welle’s journalists is an outrageous act of censorship and intimidation,” said CPJ Africa Director Angela…

Almost three years after Ethiopia’s civil war ended, Tigray remains tense and dangerous for journalists, who have been shot at, detained, raided, and swept up in a local power struggle that could trigger renewed conflict. Ethiopian foreign minister Gedion Timothewos warned the United Nations this month that in the northern state of Tigray — the…

Nairobi, September 5, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ethiopian authorities to unconditionally release Sheger FM radio editor Tigist Zerihun and reporter Mintamir Tsegaw, who were taken into custody on September 3 following the forced removal of Mintamir’s August 29 report on widespread protests over poor working conditions for healthcare workers, according to multiple news outlets. The Ethiopian Media Authority—the regulatory body responsible for…

Nairobi, August 20, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply alarmed by the abduction of Ethiopian newspaper editor Yonas Amare, the arbitrary detention of journalist Khadar Mohamed Ismael, and the incommunicado detention of radio host Abdulsemed Mohammed.  On August 13, masked men reportedly wearing military uniforms abducted Yonas, who works with the privately owned Reporter newspaper, from…

Nairobi, June 10, 2025—Ethiopian authorities should immediately release journalist Tesfalem Waldyes, founder and editor-in-chief of the privately owned news outlet Ethiopia Insider, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. He remains in detention despite having been granted bail. “The detention of Tesfalem Waldyes, even after a court-ordered his release, underscores the Ethiopian government’s disregard for judicial processes…

Nairobi, May 30, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by an Ethiopian regional court’s decision to sentence Jigjiga Television Network founder Ahmed Awga to two years in jail on charges of disseminating hateful information via a Facebook post he did not author. On May 22, the Fafen Zone High Court in Jigjiga, the capital…

Nairobi, May 16, 2025—Journalist Ahmed Awga has been in prison for over three weeks for interviewing a man who said his 16-year-old son Shafi’i Abdikarim Ali died following a police beating — one of at least seven journalists arrested in Ethiopia in the last month as the government tightens the screws on the media. After…

Nairobi, April 22, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by Ethiopian police raids on the privately owned news outlet Addis Standard’s office and an employee’s home, their confiscation of electronic devices, and detention of three managers for several hours. “The Addis Standard raids are the latest moves in the Ethiopian government’s campaign to silence…

Nairobi, April 9, 2025—Ethiopian authorities should drop terrorism investigations into at least seven journalists from the privately owned Ethiopian Broadcasting Service (EBS) who were detained over what authorities said was a fabricated documentary, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Police arrested the journalists over a March 23 episode of “Addis Meiraf,” which has since…

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ethiopian authorities to accept and implement recommendations on improving press freedom conditions and guaranteeing the safety of journalists during the United Nations’ upcoming review of its human rights record. Earlier this year, CPJ submitted a report assessing Ethiopia’s press freedom and journalist safety record from 2019, as part…