AP East Africa correspondent Cara Anna broke the news that Ethiopia has swept up thousands of ethnic Tigrayans into detention centers across the country, often holding them for months and without charges. The disturbing revelations marked the latest installment in AP’s standout coverage of the conflict.
The Ethiopian government had acknowledged detaining a small number of high-level military officials from the Tigray minority. But Anna’s reporting found the detentions were far more sweeping and arbitrary, including priests, teachers and nurses. She spoke with 15 detainees and families, including two who were still in detention centers and using smuggled phones. The arbitrary locking up of non-combatants is against international law, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has met with family members of detainees but declined to answer questions.
Theologian Lisanewerk Desta poses for a portrait at his house in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, April 26, 2021. Dozens of Tigrayan priests and deacons were detained in the capital, most for a month, according to Lisanewerk, who leads the library and museum department of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. He also said he has spoken with a detainee at a center near Harar who estimated that more than 2,000 people were held there. “I don’t have words. How to explain this kind of hatred?” he asked.
AP Photo / Mulugeta Ayene