Eleven to face trial over Ethiopia bomb plot-court
Thu May 17, 2012 7:07pm GMT
By Aaron Maasho
ADDIS ABABA May 17 (Reuters) - An Ethiopian court ruled on Thursday that
eleven people, including a Kenyan, would be tried over charges they plotted
to carry out a series of bombings in the Horn of Africa country.
The pre-trial hearing came weeks after Prime Minister Meles Zenawi announced
security officers have broken up al Qaeda cells in Ethiopia's
Muslim-majority south, the first time the group has been linked with the
country.
Four Ethiopians and Kenyan Hassen Jarso appeared at the high court in the
capital Addis Ababa. The rest, all Ethiopian, will be tried in absentia.
"According to the prosecutor's charge, they planned to plant explosives at
public places and carry out other terrorist activities," government
spokesman Shimeles Kemal told Reuters.
"The aim of the terror network was to establish an Islamic state by toppling
the government," he added.
The court ruled all the defendants had a case to answer and adjourned the
hearing until May 17.
Somalia's al Shabaab rebels , who are linked to al Qaeda, have repeatedly
said they would launch attacks in neighbouring Ethiopia.
The Islamist group was angered by Addis Ababa's decision to sent troops into
Somalia to back up government forces and a contingent of African Union
peacekeepers.
Al Shabaab has already been blamed for a string of attacks in Kenya, which
has also sent troops to Somalia. (Editing by James Macharia and Andrew
Heavens)
C Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved
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Received on Fri May 18 2012 - 19:02:01 EDT
