Addis Abeba — Ethiopia has been listed among the worst jailers of journalists in Africa, with six journalists detained–five of whom are facing “terrorism” charges that could carry death sentences, according to the 2024 prison census by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), released Thursday.
CPJ reports that the sixth journalist, Yeshihasab Abera, was arrested in September 2024 during what authorities described as a “law enforcement operation” amidst “escalating tensions” and “mass arrests” in the Amhara region. The organization noted that authorities have not disclosed the reason for his detention or filed any charges against him.
The arrests coincide with an armed conflict in the Amhara region, where authorities have reportedly targeted “civilians, civil servants, academics, and journalists” as part of operations to dismantle “armed groups and their alleged supporters,” the report stated.
CPJ highlighted that Ethiopian authorities frequently employ “often-vague charges or convictions for terrorism or extremism” to imprison journalists.
Across Africa, Eritrea ranked as the worst offender, with 16 journalists imprisoned since the early 2000s without formal charges. Cameroon and Rwanda followed with five detained each, while Nigeria recorded four.
Globally, China led the list with 50 detained journalists, followed by Israel (43), Myanmar (35), Belarus (31), and Russia (30). CPJ documented at least 361 journalists imprisoned worldwide as of December 1, 2024, marking the second-highest total in its records.
In November 2024, CPJ’s five-year report presented at the UN’s Human Rights Council report revealed a significant decline in press freedom since Ethiopia’s last review. The report also addressed the lack of accountability in the killings of two journalists, physical assaults on media professionals, forced closures of media outlets, and restrictions on international journalists. “These rankings point to a broader concern. Over the last five years, Ethiopia has entrenched a pattern of arbitrarily detaining journalists,” CPJ warned, reinforcing an earlier report by Addis Standard detailing the intesification of press freedom decline in Ethiopia compounded by arrests and exile of journalists amid political turmoil.
In its 2023 prison census, CPJ had designated Ethiopia as the third-worst country in Africa for the incarceration of journalists, with the tally of imprisoned Ethiopian journalists surging to eight that year.
