Ethiopian Airlines faces legal case over claims it blocks Tigrayans from travel

theguardian.com:

A civil society organisation has launched a lawsuit against Ethiopian Airlines, accusing the state-owned carrier of discriminating against ethnic Tigrayans.

The suit brought by Human Rights First, a local NGO, claims the airline is preventing “Tigrayans aged 15 to 60” from buying tickets for flights from the northern Tigray region to Addis Ababa, the federal capital. It also claims the company has increased ticket prices for the route as a form of “collective sanction” against the people of Tigray.

The group claims this violates Ethiopia’s constitution, which contains articles ensuring equality among ethnic groups and guaranteeing freedom of movement.

“By discriminating between citizens and limiting their freedom of movement, the accused has infringed upon their fundamental and democratic rights,” the lawsuit document states. “These charges have been presented in order to compel the accused to cease these violations.”

Tigrayans make up about 6 million of Ethiopia’s population of about 120 million. Their home region of Tigray was at the centre of a civil war in 2020-22, which killed hundreds of thousands of people and featured widespread human rights abuses.

For much of the conflict, Tigray was cut off from the rest of Ethiopia, with communications and transport links severed. Flights between Addis Ababa and the Tigrayan towns of Shire and Mekelle, the regional capital, resumed in late December after the signing of a ceasefire a month before.

However, Tigrayans trying to travel to Addis Ababa say they have been prevented from buying tickets and from boarding Ethiopian Airlines flights.

Mehret Okubay Berehe, 30, claims she was blocked from entering Mekelle’s Alula Aba Nega airport in early January by Ethiopian Airlines staff,