# Claim 450

HRW said a free and vibrant media mattered even more ahead of Ethiopia's elections scheduled for 2026.

Published 2026-09-22. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 1 source.

- Statement: HRW said a free and vibrant media mattered even more ahead of Ethiopia's elections scheduled for 2026.
- Field: status
- Value: HRW links the arrests to the 2026 election
- About: [incident 2025-ethiopia-arrests-journalists-sheger-fm](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-ethiopia-arrests-journalists-sheger-fm)
- Source: Ethiopia: Surge in Arrests of Journalists, Media Workers. https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/09/22/ethiopia-surge-in-arrests-of-journalists-media-workers
- Publisher: Human Rights Watch
- Method: outlet report
- Checked: 2026-09-22
- Confidence: medium
- Status: current
- Source date: 2025-09-22

## Quotation from the source

> Everyone's right to a free and vibrant media is even more critical in advance of national elections slated for 2026.

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/450. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.