IPAEA condemns expulsion of The Economist correspondent Tom Gardner from Ethiopia

The International Press Association of East Africa (IPAEA) condemns the revoking of the press accreditation and the expulsion of the Ethiopia correspondent for The Economist, Tom Gardner, by the Ethiopian authorities. According to The Economist, the stated reason for the expulsion was that he had failed to live up to the professional ethics expected of a journalist, which the publication strongly rejects. 

This is the latest step in the swift deterioration of press freedom in Ethiopia within the context of the ongoing civil war. The IPAEA joins the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in their deep concern about this development. Last year the Ethiopian authorities expelled New York Times Reporter Simon Marks and detained video journalist Amir Aman Kiyaro, accredited to the Associated Press, for four months without charges. Amir was released on bail but the investigation by prosecutors is still ongoing. 

Since the beginning of the conflict in November 2020 numerous members of the press have been harassed and arbitrarily detained, most of them local journalists. The IPAEA calls on the Ethiopian authorities to protect and guarantee press freedom and to allow both local and international journalists to report on the ongoing conflict without fear of retribution.