DST News: An Ethiopian-born US citizen has pleaded guilty to passing highly classified intelligence to Ethiopia, including information he hoped would help the country’s military identify and kill fighters from the Tigray region during its 2020–22 civil war.

Abraham Teklu Lemma, a former US government contractor, admitted sharing dozens of classified documents and photographs with senior Ethiopian officials over more than two years, according to the US Department of Justice.

“In doing so, he betrayed his oath, his colleagues, and his country, while jeopardizing our national security,” said Jeanine Ferris Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia.

The 54-year-old faces up to 22 years in prison under a plea agreement.

Lemma had worked as a contractor for the US State Department, the Justice Department and the National Reconnaissance Office, the agency responsible for American intelligence satellites.

Prosecutors said he 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 also 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.

The information included satellite images and details of military activities, which he sent to Ethiopian officials through encrypted messages.

The FBI said Ethiopian officials subsequently used the intelligence provided by Lemma in military operations.

Prosecutors said he hoped the information would help Ethiopia’s military identify and kill paramilitary fighters.

“Lemma betrayed the United States to an extraordinary degree,” said John Eisenberg, the US assistant attorney general for national security.

In a message to an Ethiopian official in December 2021, Lemma wrote: “We have to finish these people once and for all, otherwise there will never be peace in Ethiopia,” according to court documents.

Later that day, he shared more intelligence and urged the official: “Please send Dro[nes].”

The BBC has contacted the Ethiopian authorities for comment.

The case highlights how sensitive American intelligence was passed to Ethiopian authorities during a devastating civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions.

The conflict was marked by widespread allegations of atrocities, including massacres, sexual violence and attacks on civilians.

A peace agreement signed in November 2022 brought the war to an end. However, fighting resumed in September after both sides accused each other of failing to respect the terms of the deal.

How fresh fighting in Tigray could spark wider conflict in Ethiopia

Lemma was arrested in Maryland in August 2023 following an investigation into his handling of classified intelligence.

At the time, prosecutors alleged that he had removed security markings from intelligence reports and shared information with a foreign intelligence official.

In one exchange, the official asked him to continue providing assistance. Lemma replied: “Roger that!”

Pirro said Lemma had abused his access to some of the most sensitive intelligence held by the United States.

She accused him of betraying his colleagues and country, while prosecutors said he would be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law”.

Lemma pleaded guilty to conspiring to transmit national defence information to a foreign government.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on 14 April 2027.

Source: BBC