News Analysis: Amid concerns over arbitrary detention of Tigrayans, Ethiopia forms joint police task force to arrest, prosecute “terrorists dispatched by TPLF”

Addis Standard Staff

Addis Abeba, August 24/2021 – A joint task force was established by the Ethiopian Federal Police Criminal Investigation Bureau unit with the aim of upholding “the rule of law by arresting, and prosecuting, suspects dispatched by the TPLF and are involved in organized crimes.”

The joint task force is led by the Federal Police Criminal Investigation Bureau and includes police forces from all regional states, according to the Federal Police Commission.

“Ethiopian authorities since late June 2021 have arbitrarily detained, forcibly disappeared, and committed other abuses against ethnic Tigrayans in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Abeba”

HRW

The formation of the joint task force was announced amidst growing concerns about widespread arbitrary detentions and disappearances of Tigrayan community members from Addis Abeba and other parts of the country.

On August 18, Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a report said that “Ethiopian authorities since late June 2021 have arbitrarily detained, forcibly disappeared, and committed other abuses against ethnic Tigrayans in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Abeba,” and said “authorities should immediately account for Tigrayans’ forcibly disappeared, release those being held without credible evidence of a crime, and end all discriminatory treatment.”

“We were held in cold cells for a month until suddenly we were released on the guarantee of our ID cards. I left hundreds of prisoners behind”

Elias

The report by HRW was preceded by the news of large scale arbitrary arrest of hundreds of Tigrayans in Addis Abeba of whom around 40 were those who returned from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in April and May this year. An eye witness who was interviewed by Addis Standard said that there were over 500 ethnic Tigrayans at the detention center he was held at. Some of them were residents of Addis Abeba while the rest were people who arrived from the Tigray region. “We were held in cold cells for a month until suddenly we were released on the guarantee of our ID cards. I left hundreds of prisoners behind. Most of the prisoners don’t have family members in Addis Abeba and were daily laborers,” Elias (name changed for security reasons), who was the eyewitness, said at the time.

The TPLF happens to be an organization organized along ethnic lines, so most of its supporters, most of its financiers happen to be, not all of them, but most of them, happen to be from one ethnic group

Gedion Timothewos

Most TPLF supports are from “one ethnic group”

However, in an interview with BBC Hardtalk, Ethiopia’s attorney general Gedion Timothewos dismissed the HRW report. “The TPLF has legitimately been designated as a terrorist organization by our parliament. Anyone who supports, provide material assistance or sponsors this kind of organization would have to be held accountable. The TPLF happens to be an organization organized along ethnic lines, so most of its supporters, most of its financiers happen to be, not all of them, but most of them, happen to be from one ethnic group. So sometimes, some outsides might not understand this context..and the challenge. I understand where that is coming from but they have to understand the environment within which we are operating.”

In July and August thus year, a crackdown by the Addis Abeba City Administration saw the closure of several Hotels in the city which the City administration claimed were “found operating with expired licenses, breached COVID-19 protocols and failed to keep accurate employee records, among other things.”

” 1,642 suspects were arrested and action was taken against 1,616 businesses, including hotels, buildings, warehouses, investment farms, factories and real estate companies”

Zelalem Mengiste

Zelalem Mengiste, Deputy Commissioner General of the Ethiopian Federal Police Criminal Investigation Bureau, said thousands of individuals were arrested hundreds of businesses were closed. According to him, based on recent assessment, 1,642 suspects were arrested and action was taken against 1,616 businesses, including hotels, buildings, warehouses, investment farms, factories and real estate companies. The Police have also seized more than 58 million birr in cash and blocked 93 bank accounts which are under investigation, according to the task force. AS