ADDIS ABABA — Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Ethiopian authorities to stop what it described as a wave of harassment and arbitrary arrests targeting independent journalists, warning that press freedoms are being steadily eroded in the run-up to the country’s next elections.
“The Ethiopian authorities’ renewed efforts to muzzle independent reporting are all about preventing public scrutiny of the government,” Laetitia Bader, HRW’s deputy Africa director, said in a statement on Monday.
The call follows the arrest on September 3 of three journalists from Sheger FM, a private radio station, after the outlet reported on health workers protesting for higher wages.
According to HRW, the Ethiopian Media Authority accused the station of bias and incitement, ordered it to remove the broadcast, and security forces later detained the reporters despite compliance. Only one has since been freed.
The watchdog noted that the incident is part of a wider pattern of intimidation. In April, three staff members of Addis Standard, an English-language daily, were briefly detained after police raided their newsroom.
Local journalists say the climate has become “terrifying.” One reporter in exile told AFP that repression against independent media is “only increasing,” echoing concerns that authorities are tightening control ahead of the June 2026 general elections.
Ethiopia’s press freedom record has deteriorated sharply in recent years.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked the country 145th out of 180 nations in its 2025 index, four places lower than last year, and noted that at least eight journalists remain behind bars.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, once hailed for opening up political space after coming to power in 2018, has faced mounting criticism from rights groups for reneging on his early reforms.
His government has been accused of silencing dissent, particularly since the 2020 civil war that ravaged the country.
