Abraham Teklu Lemma: US contractor gave Ethiopia secrets to help kill Tigray fighters – BBC

Abraham Teklu Lemma: US contractor gave Ethiopia secrets to help kill Tigray fighters  BBC

The Ethiopian-born American citizen admitted sharing dozens of classified documents with senior Ethiopian officials. An Ethiopian-born American citizen has pleaded guilty to passing highly classified intelligence to Ethiopia, including information he hoped would help target and kill fighters from the Tigray region during the country's 2020-22 civil war. Abraham Teklu Lemma, a former US contractor, admitted sharing dozens of classified documents and photographs with senior Ethiopian officials over more than two years, the US Department of Justice said. "In doing so, he betrayed his oath, his colleagues, and his country, while jeopardizing our national security," said US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Ferris Pirro. The 54-year-old faces up to 22 years in prison under a plea agreement.

Abraham had worked as a contractor at the State Department, Justice Department and National Reconnaissance Office, the agency responsible for US intelligence satellites. Prosecutors said Abraham worked with senior figures in Ethiopia's political, military and intelligence establishments between 2021 and his arrest in August 2023. He secretly removed classified material from secure government facilities, sometimes copying sensitive information into handwritten notes that he carried out of the buildings. He used his position as an IT administrator to extract electronic intelligence files. "Much of the highly classified information Lemma shared with the Ethiopian government concerned an armed conflict in Ethiopia," prosecutors said.