Rights group warns of shrinking civic space after Ethiopian Media Authority suspends the country’s oldest private Amharic publication
By Staff Writer
(Nairobi, Kenya) — Human Rights Watch urged the Ethiopian government to immediately lift an indefinite publication ban on The Reporter newspaper and stop escalating measures against independent media.
In a statement by Horn of Africa Director Laetitia Bader, the rights group called the regulatory shutdown part of a strategy to restrict independent journalism. The statement followed the Ethiopian Media Authority’s decision to suspend the operating license of The Reporter, the country’s oldest private Amharic publication.
The Media Authority accused the newspaper of repeatedly publishing distorted reports that harm national interests, foreign investment, tourism, and diplomatic engagements, asserting that the outlet violated national laws and journalistic standards.
Human Rights Watch stated that the ban reflects broader state pressure aimed at shrinking civic space, noting that regulators increasingly cite vague national interest concerns to silence coverage on sensitive topics.
The rights group pointed to press restrictions in Ethiopia, citing past expulsions of foreign correspondents alongside detentions, forced disappearances, and office raids targeting local reporters. The organization highlighted an October incident in which plainclothes police detained journalists Samuel Getachew and Emanuel Gebremedhin for eight days on allegations of reporting news that could incite unrest in Addis Ababa.
Days before the suspension, the English-language edition of The Reporter published a lead article warning that Ethiopia’s private press faces one of its most challenging periods, calling for urgent structural reforms to prevent institutional collapse across the sector.
Human Rights Watch urged Ethiopia’s international development and diplomatic partners to exert pressure on the federal government to reverse the suspension and uphold press freedoms.
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