Ethiopian authorities have revoked the accreditation and residence permit of a French journalist working for the Catholic daily La Croix and ordered her to leave the country following a reporting trip to Tigray earlier this month.
Asked about the case, the Ethiopian Media Authority (EMA) told Addis Standard to submit its questions in writing. Responses were not available at the time of publication.
Augustine Passilly, 30, La Croix‘s Horn of Africa correspondent based in Ethiopia since 2023, left the country on 11 June after receiving an exit visa issued by Ethiopian authorities.
The decision followed a reporting trip to Shire, Tigray, between June 3 and 6, where Passilly was covering growing concerns among residents over the possibility of renewed conflict amid escalating political and military tensions in the region.
On June 4, while still in Shire, Passilly was contacted by a representative of the Ethiopian Media Authority and instructed to return to Addis Ababa immediately. According to information obtained by Addis Standard, immediate travel was not possible as the next available flight from Shire to Addis Ababa was scheduled for June 6, while flights from Mekelle and Axum were also unavailable at the time.
Upon returning to Addis Ababa on June 6, Passilly was summoned to the EMA, where she met with four officials, including Director General Haymanot Zeleke and Deputy Director General Yonatan Tesfaye. During the meeting, officials reportedly questioned her decision to travel to Tigray amid political and security tensions that have persisted since the reinstatement of the pre-war Tigray regional administration on May 5. Her accreditation was subsequently suspended pending an investigation.
Two days later, on June 8, Passilly was summoned by the Immigration and Citizenship Services (ICS), where officials informed her that both her accreditation and residence permit, valid until September 2026, had been revoked.
Authorities then required her to obtain an exit visa, which was issued on June 10 and set to expire on June 18. She departed Ethiopia the following day.
No official explanation has been publicly provided for the revocation of her accreditation and residence permit.
The move comes despite the absence of any publicly announced restrictions on travel to Tigray for accredited foreign journalists. Access to the region, which had been restricted during parts of the post-war period, was reopened to foreign correspondents in 2024.
The case is likely to reignite concerns among press freedom advocates, who have repeatedly criticized restrictions on journalists’ access to conflict-affected areas and the use of accreditation measures against members of the media.
Passilly has reported on Ethiopia and the wider Horn of Africa for La Croix since 2023.
The expulsion comes amid growing concerns over restrictions facing both local and international media in Ethiopia. In February 2026, an accredited Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalist was barred from boarding a flight from Addis Ababa to Shire in Tigray after airport security personnel said he lacked authorization from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The journalist had been traveling to the region as renewed tensions fueled fears of a return to conflict.
At the time, the restriction followed Ethiopia’s decision not to renew the accreditation of three Reuters journalists after the news agency published a report alleging the presence of a training base for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Ethiopian territory. CPJ described the revocation as a violation of press freedom and said it reflected what it called increasing restrictions targeting international media in Ethiopia.
The media watchdog also noted that several journalists had faced imprisonment or accreditation-related measures in recent years. In December 2024, local journalists working for Germany’s Deutsche Welle (DW) were permanently suspended, while accreditation renewals for BBC correspondents were also denied, as well as license revocation of Addis Standard and Wazema Radio in February 2026.
The recent development comes amid ongoing legal proceedings involving Addis Standard and the Ethiopian Media Authority over a dispute related to media regulation and accreditation practices. In a recent hearing, the Federal Court ordered the Ethiopian Media Authority to formally respond to Addis Standard’s petition, with the case adjourned to 24 June.
The case is part of broader tensions between independent media outlets and regulatory authorities in Ethiopia over issues including accreditation, press freedom, and access to information. Media rights groups have previously raised concerns about the regulatory environment, particularly in relation to administrative measures affecting journalists and news organizations operating in the country.
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