Ethiopia: Ethiopia Renews Reuters Journalists' Reporting Licenses After Six-Month Suspension

What the report says

Ethiopia’s Media Authority has renewed the reporting licenses of three Reuters journalists based in Addis Ababa, ending a six-month suspension that began after the government declined to renew their accreditation earlier this year. The decision, reported by Addis Standard and published on AllAfrica, followed discussions between EMA Director General Haymanot Zeleke and Reuters executives Nick Tattersall and Silvia Aloisi.

According to EMA’s statement, the talks focused on Reuters coverage of Ethiopia over the past several months. The authority said some reports did not meet legal and professional standards it expects, citing concerns about balance, accuracy, credibility and objectivity. Reuters representatives, as described by EMA, said the news agency follows independent editorial rules and agreed to make corrections where needed. EMA said the journalists would be allowed to continue working and called on other institutions to recognize the renewed credentials.

The move reverses restrictions imposed in February, when Ethiopia withdrew Reuters’ accreditation for the African Union summit and did not renew the three journalists’ local accreditation. Reuters said at the time that it would keep covering the country independently. The earlier dispute followed Reuters’ reporting on allegations involving a training site in western Ethiopia linked to Sudan’s war, a story that had drawn attention from Ethiopian authorities.

The restoration of the licenses comes amid wider concern over media regulation in Ethiopia, where other outlets have also faced scrutiny or registration disputes. Press freedom groups have previously warned that the environment for independent and international journalists remains difficult, making the Reuters decision significant beyond the agency itself.