World · Africa · 2 hrs ago
Former US contractor admits passing classified intelligence to Ethiopia
Former US contractor Abraham Teklu Lemma pleaded guilty to conspiring to pass national defense information to Ethiopia.
The 54-year-old shared classified documents, satellite images and military information with senior Ethiopian officials from 2021 until his arrest in August 2023.
Ethiopian officials used the intelligence in military operations, according to the FBI, though US officials have not said which operations or whether anyone was killed as a result.
Lemma worked as an information technology contractor for the US State Department, Justice Department and National Reconnaissance Office, which handles intelligence satellites.
He wanted the information to help target fighters during Ethiopia’s 2020–2022 war, fought between federal forces and their allies and fighters from the northern Tigray region.
A 2022 peace agreement ended the main fighting, but tensions and insecurity have continued, and fighting resumed in September.
His plea deal provides for up to nearly 22 years in prison, subject to court approval, and he is due to be sentenced on April 14, 2027.
Abraham Teklu Lemma, a former U.S. government contractor, pleaded guilty to conspiring to pass classified national defense information to Ethiopia.
Prosecutors said he supplied classified documents, photographs and intelligence to senior Ethiopian officials for more than two years.
The FBI said Ethiopian officials used intelligence he provided in military operations, but U.S. statements did not identify the operations or say whether anyone was killed.
Prosecutors said Lemma hoped the information would help Ethiopia’s military identify and kill paramilitary fighters.
His sentencing is scheduled for April 14, 2027, and his plea agreement provides for a prison term of 10 years to 21 years and 10 months, subject to court approval.
- Who
- Abraham Teklu Lemma, a 54-year-old former U.S. government contractor.
- What
- He pleaded guilty to conspiring to transmit classified national defense information to Ethiopia.
- When
- He pleaded guilty on Tuesday, according to the articles. His sentencing is scheduled for April 14, 2027.
- Where
- The information was passed to Ethiopian officials; Lemma was arrested in Maryland in August 2023.
- Why
- Prosecutors said he hoped the information would help Ethiopia’s military identify and kill paramilitary fighters.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Prosecutors said Lemma began sharing intelligence with Ethiopian officials, and in December he urged an official to act against government opponents.
A peace agreement ended the main fighting in the war between Ethiopian federal forces and Tigrayan fighters.
Lemma was arrested in Maryland.
Lemma pleaded guilty to conspiring to transmit national defense information to a foreign government.
Lemma is scheduled to be sentenced.
- Defendant
- Abraham Teklu Lemma, 54
- Former workplaces
- State Department, Justice Department and National Reconnaissance Office
- Information-sharing period
- 2021 to August 2023
- Sentencing date
- April 14, 2027
- Plea agreement prison term
- 10 years to 21 years and 10 months, subject to court approval
3 sources
What people are saying
We have to finish these people once and for all, otherwise there will never be peace in Ethiopia
Please send Dro[nes].
In doing so, he betrayed his oath, his colleagues, and his country, while jeopardizing our national security
Lemma betrayed the United States to an extraordinary degree