Ethiopian authorities suspend licenses of Deutsche Welle’s local correspondents

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 Quintal. “Ethiopian authorities are weaponizing media laws to silence independent reporting and control the narrative. The government must immediately lift the suspension, stop harassing journalists, and respect the public’s right to information.”

In an October 23 letter, the authority informed Deutsche Welle that it had temporarily suspended DW Amharic service correspondents in Ethiopia, saying that their reporting violated the country’s media and hate speech laws, DW reported. The authority further said DW’s reports were “not in line with professional ethical standards.”

According to the letter, the authority had previously summoned DW representatives several times for discussions, feedback sessions, and written warnings, including a “final written warning” in September 2022, but claimed that “no tangible improvements were observed.” 

In a statement sent to CPJ, DW said the EMA letter contained no “concrete allegations” against its coverage and called on Ethiopian authorities to specify which reports allegedly breached media proclamations.

The suspension comes amid a broad expansion of the Ethiopian Media Authority’s powers, following an April 17, 2025 amendment to the country’s media law. The amendment weakened public participation and transparency requirements in the authority’s board appointments and transferred key regulatory powers, including the ability to suspend, revoke, or fine media licenses, directly to the authority.

The EMA did not reply to CPJ’s emailed request for comment on the coverage that resulted in the suspension.