An Ethiopian-born American citizen and former US contractor has pleaded guilty to passing highly classified intelligence to Ethiopia, including information he intended to help target and kill fighters from the Tigray region during the country’s civil war, according to the US Department of Justice as reported by the BBC.
The 54-year-old defendant, Abraham Teklu Lemma, admitted to sharing dozens of classified documents and photographs with senior Ethiopian officials over a period of more than two years. Prosecutors stated that he faces up to 22 years in prison under the terms of a plea agreement, with his sentencing scheduled for April 14, 2027.
Details of the US Contractor Case
During his career, Abraham worked as a contractor at several key American agencies, including the State Department, the Justice Department, and the National Reconnaissance Office, which oversees US intelligence satellites. Investigators revealed that he used his position as an IT administrator to extract electronic intelligence files and secretly removed classified material from secure government facilities, sometimes transcribing sensitive details into handwritten notes.
According to court papers, the intelligence he transmitted between 2021 and his arrest in August 2023 included satellite imagery and details regarding military activities. Prosecutors noted that he passed these files to Ethiopian political, military, and intelligence figures via encrypted messages, hoping the data would assist in identifying and eliminating paramilitary fighters.
Conflict Context and Messages
The devastating civil war in Ethiopia, which spanned from 2020 to 2022, resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and displaced millions of people before a peace agreement was signed in November 2022. Court documents show that in December 2021, Abraham messaged an Ethiopian official urging military action with the statement, “We have to finish these people once and for all,” and later requested drones.
US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Ferris Pirro stated that the defendant betrayed his oath, colleagues, and country while jeopardizing national security. Following an investigation into his handling of classified intelligence, Abraham was arrested in Maryland in August 2023 and ultimately pleaded guilty to conspiring to transmit national defence information to a foreign government.
Source: US contractor gave Ethiopia secrets to help kill Tigray fighters (source-feed timestamp 2026-11-04T10:35:03+00:00). AI-assisted report based on the cited linked article and its RSS feed; details were not independently verified.
Context matters. Read about our editorial standards and corrections policy.
Join the conversation