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ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Police arrested Tigrayan street trader Nigusu Mahari last year as he strolled along the traffic-clogged streets of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. He says he was speaking on the phone in the language of his homeland, a distant region in the north.
Street trader Nigusu Mahari,?an ethnic Tigrayan who says he was arrested as he strolled along a street speaking in his native language, holds a phone to his ear at a coffee shop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, December 22, 2020. Police accused him of working with Tigrayan rebel fighters. He was released without charge, court records show. REUTERS/Stringer
By Giulia Paravicini, Dawit Endeshaw and Katharine Houreld
ADDIS ABABA, May 7 (Reuters) - Police arrested Tigrayan street trader Nigusu Mahari last year as he strolled along the traffic-clogged streets of Ethiopia s capital Addis Ababa. He says he was speaking on the phone in the language of his homeland, a distant region in the north.
Officers accused the broom hawker of planning a bombing, trying to overturn the constitution and working with Tigrayan rebel fighters. Nigusu professed his innocence. Six weeks later, a judge released him on bail without charge, court records show, after Reuters began inquiring about his case.
Nigusu is among thousands of Tigrayans swept up in a nationwide crackdown that started last November, when fighting erupted in Tigray between federal forces and the Tigray People s Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that dominated the national government until three years ago. Tigrayans themselves are a small minority in Ethiopia s mosaic of more than 90 ethni
Publishing date: May 07, 2021 • 6 hours ago • 14 minute read •
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ADDIS ABABA Police arrested Tigrayan street trader Nigusu Mahari last year as he strolled along the traffic-clogged streets of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. He says he was speaking on the phone in the language of his homeland, a distant region in the north.
Officers accused the broom hawker of planning a bombing, trying to overturn the constitution and working with Tigrayan rebel fighters. Nigusu professed his innocence. Six weeks later, a judge released him on bail without charge, court records show, after Reuters began inquiring about his case.
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