This archive report was first published on 23 June 2021.
American election observer John Marsh was found dead in his hotel room in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on June 22, 2021, while observing the country's sixth general election.
Marsh was a member of the Carter Center team of observers, which was monitoring the election.
According to the Addis Ababa Police Commission, Marsh was found dead in his bedroom at the Radisson Blu Hotel, and a worker at the hotel reported that the hotel room cleaner had seen him on the ground next to his bed when she went to clean the room.
The police said that the cleaner had immediately reported what she saw to the police, who then came to the scene and found Marsh dead.
The cause of death was not immediately established, but police said that a postmortem would be carried out and that an investigation was underway.
The probe is being conducted by the Addis Ababa Police Commission, in collaboration with the Federal Police Commission and the US Embassy in Addis Ababa.
Police found medicines at the scene and noted that the body did not have any visible injuries.
The Carter Center extended its deepest sympathies to Marsh's family and friends in a tweet.
