Coup Plotters Were Trained for Months, Says Ethiopian Court Filing
November 22, 2019 (Ezega.com) -- The federal high court of Ethiopia has filed charges against thirteen individuals allegedly involved in coup attempt which left senior government officials dead, including General Seare Mekonnen, the former chief of staff of the Ethiopian Armed Forces, and Ambachew Mekonnen, the former President of the Amhara regional state. The coup plotters were trained for months, says the Ethiopian court filing.
The suspects including Mesafint Tigabu, bodyguard of late General Seare Mekonnen, and Christian Tadele, Public Relations Officer of the Amhara National Movement (NAMA) are accused of plotting a coup against the constitution by force. They appeared before 1st anti-terrorism federal court on Friday, November 22, 2019, and the charges were read to them.
According to the charges, the suspects plotted coup using a management institute in Amhara state as a command center under the guidance of the late Brigadier General Asaminew Tsigie who was killed on June 23rd this year.
The charge says the suspects were recruited to carry out the attacks and trained for months in Benishangul-Gumuz and Oromia regions. They were then deployed to Bahir Dar and Addis Ababa city to complete their mission.
Their plan was to create chaos and take control of power in Amhara state and then the federal government by killing leaders of the army and disrupt the chains of command. The suspects also are accused of disseminating information vial Facebook calling for support from the public.
1st defendant, Corporal Mesafint Tigabu is accused of murdering General Seare Mekonnen and retired Major Gezai Abera after he received shoot and kill mission order from Brigadier General Asaminew Tsigie. According to the charges, Corporal Mesafint Tigabu was convinced by General Asaminew Tsigie that General Seare played a major role in the killing of ethnic Amhara people in different parts of the country. Read more...
