Arrested Tigray leaders appear in Ethiopian court
More than 15 members of the former ruling party in Ethiopia’s Tigray state have appeared in court.
They include a founding member of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a former head of the state and a former speaker of the country’s upper house of parliament.
They were arrested earlier this month following a short but bloody conflict between the TPLF and the Ethiopian federal army.
The government says they are being investigated for treason, launching attacks against the army and engaging in armed uprising. They have not been formally charged.
This is the second court appearance for some of the TPLF’s most high-profile members, such as:
Sebhat Nega – one of the founders of the group and has long been seen as its chief ideologue, and
Abay Woldu – who spent eight years as president of Tigray, serving until 2018.
TPLF party leaders vowed to continue to fight after the regional capital was captured by the army at the end of November.
Since then some of the TPLF’s most senior figures have died – including Seyoum Mesfin, Ethiopia’s longest serving foreign minister, who supposedly refused to surrender.
The whereabouts of the group’s current head, Debrestsion Gebremichael, is still unknown
Two months since the federal government declared victory in Tigray, aid agencies say millions of people there remain in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
