By ALEXANDER GEBREEGZIHER
Alarming reports have surfaced from Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, indicating that ethnic Tigrayans are being subjected to identity-based arrests and arbitrary detentions.
The independent rights organization, Priority for Human Rights, along with released detainees and their families, has confirmed a wave of targeted detentions over the past two weeks across multiple sub-cities in Addis Ababa.
According to Priority for Human Rights, Tigrayans have been apprehended based on their names, accents, and language, with no formal charges or due legal process. In a statement released on June 23, the organization stated
“We have confirmed from witnesses who were detained and released that Tigrayans from the Tigray region and residents of Addis Ababa are being discriminated against based on their names, accent, and language.”
The deputy director of the organization, Mebrhi Berhane, explained that this pattern of detention is “about two weeks old” and is intensifying.
“This arrest is particularly targeting young people. They are taken from the streets, from places of entertainment, and are rounded up; they are not brought to court; they have no interrogators; there is no one to even tell them why they are being arrested,” said Berhane.
Priority for Human Rights conducted monitoring in at least six sub-cities, including Yeka, Lemikura, Bole, Beldeta, Addis Ketema, and Nefas Silk Lafto.
The report highlights that many detainees were initially held at local police stations and later transferred to larger detention centers without access to legal counsel or family visitation.
Specific areas mentioned in the monitoring include the French, Kotebe, 02, and Shola neighborhoods of Yeka; the CMC area of Lemikura; Bole Sub-City 22; Addisu Asphalt; Adey Ababa; and the Fifth Police Station in Beldeta Sub-City.
Two individuals who were recently released, along with a family member of a current detainee, shared with the BBC that the arrests occurred while victims were simply walking on the street. None were informed of the reasons for their detention, and no court appearances were arranged.
The Ethiopian government has yet to issue a formal response to the allegations.
This development raises serious concerns about the violation of fundamental rights and the resurgence of ethnic profiling in Ethiopia, a country still grappling with the aftermath of a brutal civil war in Tigray.
Rights groups and civil society actors are calling for immediate transparency, the release of those arbitrarily detained, and an independent investigation into the actions of law enforcement.