Ethiopia: Deutsche Welle protests suspension of its correspondents
By Morris Nor// Deutsche Welle (DW) protests the suspension of the work done by its nine local correspondents in Ethiopia by the Ethiopian Media Authority (EMA). The media regulator issued a letter on Thursday to DW’s editorial team demanding the “temporary” suspension of all journalistic activities carried out by its correspondents.
“We are very concerned about the restriction on our reporting in Ethiopia,” says Barbara Massing, DW Director General. “Following the discontinuation of the language services of Voice of America, Deutsche Welle offers the most widely accessed Amharic-language program by an international media outlet in Ethiopia. Millions of Ethiopians continue to rely on us to provide them with access to independent information. We fully expect that our colleagues will be able to resume their work immediately and without restriction.”
The letter from the EMA does not contain any concrete allegations regarding individual aspects of DW’s coverage. Instead, it broadly accuses DW of violating government media proclamations, including regulations against hate speech and the dissemination of false information. DW calls on Ethiopian authorities to provide detailed clarification as to which reports have allegedly breached the aforementioned media proclamations and to immediately lift the suspension.
The nine DW employees in Ethiopia have ceased their work as journalists until further notice. Amharic-language programming by DW will continue to be produced by editorial staff in Bonn and employees around the world. DW’s radio and TV offerings reach approximately 10 percent of the Ethiopian population over the age of 14.
The suspension of DW journalists marks a further deterioration of the media climate in Africa’s second most populous country ahead of the elections scheduled to take place there in June 2026. Press freedom in Ethiopia has significantly declined since the outbreak of the civil war in the Tigray region in 2020. In recent months, independent media organizations like the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders have repeatedly called for the release of imprisoned Ethiopian journalists. The country is one of the world’s most heavily censored media markets and currently ranks 145 out of 180 countries on the Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders.
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