EDITORIAL | Ethiopia’s Press Freedom Crisis: A Government Driving Journalists Into Exile

Ethiopia’s fall to 145th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index reflects a disturbing truth: the government has created an environment so hostile to independent journalism that media workers no longer feel safe in their own country.

This year’s “very worrying” classification aligns with what Ethiopian journalists are living through—harassment, arrests, intimidation, and the systematic obstruction of media operations. Ambassador Media reports that some of its own staff have been forced to flee the country due to growing fear for their safety and escalating pressures linked to their work. This is the reality facing many journalists who see no alternative but exile.

A Government Responsible for the Crisis

Officials may deny responsibility, but the conditions journalists face did not appear by chance.
A climate where reporters are detained, interrogated, or threatened for doing their jobs is a climate created by the state.

RSF’s indicators reveal the depth of the crisis:

• 157th in security — journalists do not feel protected
• 146th in the social environment — rising hostility against the media
• 139th in political interference — direct pressure on reporting

These rankings expose a system that punishes scrutiny instead of welcoming it.

Reversing Earlier Gains

Reporters Without Borders warns that Ethiopia has “reversed the gains it has made in press freedom in recent years.”
Rather than expanding reforms, authorities have allowed restrictive practices, arbitrary actions, and politically motivated pressure to become routine. The result is an environment where journalists live in fear, media houses face interference, and the truth becomes harder to report.

Ambassador Media’s Position

As a platform committed to the public interest, Ambassador Media holds the government accountable for creating conditions that endanger reporters and force some into exile.

We condemn:

• the intensifying suppression of critical reporting
• the growing pattern of harassment and detention of journalists
• the political manipulation of media institutions
• the hostile climate that has driven media workers—including some of our own—to leave the country for safety

These are not isolated incidents. They form a pattern of state-enabled pressure that undermines Ethiopia’s democratic foundations.