Ethiopia orders journalists from Germany's DW to stop work

Deutsche Welle logo. [iStock photo]

Ethiopia has ordered journalists working for Deutsche Welle (DW) to stop reporting in the country, the German broadcaster said Friday, the latest move in a broader media crackdown.

DW said the Ethiopian Media Authority (EMA) ordered nine of its journalists to "temporarily" suspend work on Thursday.

"We are very concerned about the restriction on our reporting in Ethiopia," DW director general Barbara Massing said in a statement.

"We fully expect that our colleagues will be able to resume their work immediately and without restriction."

The state-backed broadcaster produces programming in 32 languages, including Amharic, which is spoken by many in Ethiopia.

DW said its staff in Ethiopia had complied with the order to halt journalistic work.

But staff in Germany and elsewhere in the world will continue producing DW's Amharic-language television and radio programming to serve Ethiopians, the broadcaster said.

DW said that its Amharic-language programming reaches millions of Ethiopians, making it the largest foreign broadcaster in the country.

According to DW, the EMA's letter did not level any concrete allegations about coverage.

It is the latest targeting of reporters ahead of elections, due to be held in June or July 2026.

In September, Human Rights Watch (HRW) asked the Ethiopian authorities to "end their harassment of independent journalists".

In April, three employees of the Addis Standard, an English-language online daily, were detained for several hours after a police raid on their offices.

"The repression against independent media is only increasing," an Ethiopian journalist in exile for several years told AFP, describing a "terrifying" climate.

According to press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF), eight journalists are currently imprisoned in Ethiopia.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was initially praised for opening up civil space when he came to power in 2018, after nearly three decades of authoritarian rule by the Tigray People's Liberation Front.

But rights groups accuse him of quickly reneging on those early promises, especially after the country was plunged into a devastating civil war in 2020.

RSF ranked Ethiopia 145th out of 180 countries this year in the group's annual press freedom index, down four places on 2024.