Fears for imprisoned relatives

A Bath woman is in a desperate situation as her family has been detained in Ethiopia for the best part of this year.

The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, has family in the troubled Tigray region and other relatives in the capital Addis Ababa who have been locked up under the state of emergency enforced in response to Tigrayan military offensives.

“My heart goes out to my constituent and her family, and to all those who are suffering in the conflict,” said Bath MP Wera Hobhouse.

“There is also a real need for humanitarian aid as the fighting has forced many people in Tigray, and in neighbouring Wollo and Amhara, to flee their homes,” she said.

“There are hugely concerning reports of widespread human rights abuses in Tigray on all sides in the current conflict. The Government must do its utmost to ensure the release of all of those who are unlawfully detained in Ethiopia and to support a democratic and peaceful end to the fighting.”

In a letter, the Bath MP asked the Minister for Africa, Vicky Ford, what efforts have been made with the international community to ensure people unlawfully detained in Ethiopia are released. The Minister said the situation was very challenging and had called her counterpart in Ethiopia on behalf of the Bath resident.

“When I spoke to Minister Redwan,” said Ms Ford, “I urged him to end the mobilisation of civilians and ethnically targeted arrests. There is a growing risk of uncontrollable ethnic violence, which is doing huge long-term damage to the social cohesion of the country.”