Ethiopia Ginbot 7 leader facing death penalty 'extradited from Yemen'
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An Ethiopian opposition leader, who was sentenced to death while in exile
for plotting a coup, has been extradited from Yemen to Ethiopia, his group
says.
Andargachew Tsege, who is also a British national, is secretary-general of
the banned Ginbot 7 movement.
The Ethiopian government allegedly requested his extradition after he was
arrested in Yemen last month.
European MEP Ana Gomes told the BBC the UK needed to use its political
leverage to ensure his release.
The Ethiopian government has not commented on the alleged extradition.
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"Start Quote
If there is a country that is extremely influential in Ethiopia, it is
Britain"
Ana GomesEuropean Parliament member
'Deep concerns'
US-based Ginbot 7 spokesman Ephrem Madebo told the BBC's Focus on Africa
radio programme that Mr Andargachew had been on his way from the United
Arab Emirates to Eritrea when he was detained during a stopover at Sanaa
airport.
Mr Ephrem said that he had spoken to Mr Andargachew's family who had been
contacted by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Thursday.
British officials told the family that the Yemeni ambassador to the UK had
informed them that Mr Andargachew had been handed over to Ethiopia, Mr
Ephrem said.
In a statement the UK Foreign Office said it was aware that Mr Andargachew
had been missing in Yemen since 24 June.
"Since then UK officials have pressed the Yemeni authorities at senior
levels to establish his whereabouts, including meeting with the Yemeni
ambassador in London this week," a Foreign Office spokesman said in a
statement.
"We are aware of reports that he may now be in Ethiopia and we are urgently
seeking confirmation from the relevant authorities given our deep concerns
about the case. We are continuing to provide consular assistance to his
family."
'Major donor'
Ms Gomes, who led the European Union observer mission to Ethiopia during
the 2005 elections, said she had written to UK Foreign Secretary William
Hague about the case.
"If the British government is not complicit with this kidnapping and this
rendition of Mr Andargachew Tsigue to the Ethiopian regime - [which] will
obviously torture him, accuse him of all sorts of things and eventually
kill him - then the British government has to get immediately the release
of Mr Andargachew," she told BBC Focus on Africa.
"If there is a country that is extremely influential in Ethiopia, it is
Britain - it's a major donor and it's a major political backer of the
regime in Ethiopia."
Mr Ephrem said that the UK government should have intervened in the case
earlier.
"The UK government looks like a collaborator because the UK government
never acted," he said, adding that it was ridiculous to consider Mr
Andergachew a terrorist.
"To the Ethiopian government even bloggers are terrorists [and] journalists
are terrorists," he said.
Ginbot 7 (15 May) was named after the date of the 2005 elections, which
were marred by protests over alleged fraud that led to the deaths of about
200 people.
In 2009, the year before the last elections, Mr Andergachew was among a
group of Ginbot 7 leaders sentenced to death in absentia for planning to
assassinate government officials; they denied the charges.
Received on Fri Jul 04 2014 - 21:15:59 EDT