Ethiopia: Nine reporters suspended by media authority

The Ethiopian Media Authority (EMA) has temporarily suspended nine reporters from the Deutsche Welle (DW) Amharic Service, accusing them of breaching professional ethics and violating the country's media regulations. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly condemns the suspension and calls on the country's media authority to lift it immediately. The suspension is a deliberate act of intimidation and harassment aimed at silencing the DW in terms of its coverage and denies Ethiopian citizens their right to access independent information, especially concerning the conflict in the Tigray region.

Credit: DW

According to local media reports, the EMA sent a letter to Germany's international broadcaster on 23 October, claimingthat the broadcaster and its local correspondents had "violated Ethiopian law and regulations, and failed to respect professional ethics". The country's media authority did not seem to have specified when this suspension would be lifted.

Responding to the suspension, DW's Director General Barbara Massing emphasised the broadcaster's vital role in providing independent news to the Ethiopian public. "We fully expect that our colleagues will be able to resume their work immediately and without restriction," she stated.

The broadcaster noted that the EMA's letter did not contain any concrete allegations related to particular news reports or its coverage. Instead, it broadly highlighted "the violation of government media proclamations, including regulations against hate speech and the dissemination of false information".

Local media reported that the EMA's decision might have been triggeredby DW's report on 21 October, which covered advances by the Fano Forces - who took control of numerous areas across the Amhara region - following renewed clashes with government troops.

The suspension comes against a backdrop in which press freedom in Ethiopia is increasingly under pressure. Following an amendmentto the Ethiopian Media Law in April, 2025, the country is witnessing a controversial expansionof the regulatory powers of the EMA, which now has the power to suspend, revoke or sanction media licenses.

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: "The suspension of the DW reporters by the EMA is a deliberate act of intimidation aimed at depriving Ethiopians of truthful reporting on the conflict in the Amhara region. The Ethiopian government must allow media workers to carry out their work free from any form of intimidation and harassment. Such actions have become a recurring strategy to silence journalists since the beginning of the conflict, with many reporters facing imprisonment as a result."

The IFJ calls for the immediate and unconditional reinstatement of the suspended DW reporters and urges the Ethiopian authorities to end all forms of repression against journalists, ensuring that they can perform their duties without fear or interference.