A former U.S. government contractor has admitted to passing classified intelligence to Ethiopia that officials used in military operations, the U.S. Justice Department announced Tuesday.
Abraham Teklu Lemma, 54, of Silver Spring, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiring to transmit national defense information to a foreign government. Prosecutors stated that he worked as an information technology contractor at the State Department, Justice Department, and National Reconnaissance Office. He supplied secrets to senior Ethiopian officials for over two years, urging them to deploy drones against fighters opposing the government.
According to prosecutors, the classified information, including top-secret satellite imagery and classified reports sent through an encrypted messaging application, reached Ethiopia’s military and intelligence branches between 2021 and August 2023, when Lemma was arrested. An FBI affidavit alleged that Lemma urged an Ethiopian contact in December 2021 to act decisively against government opponents, stating, "We have to finish these people once and for all, otherwise there will never be peace in Ethiopia."
An FBI counterintelligence official confirmed that Lemma admitted Ethiopian officials used the intelligence he supplied in military operations. The Justice Department has not disclosed the specific operations or whether any individuals were killed as a result of the intelligence breach.
The disclosures occurred during Ethiopia’s 2020–2022 war between federal forces and Tigrayan fighters. Researchers at Belgium’s Ghent University estimated that 500,000 civilians died during that conflict due to violence, famine, and the collapse of health services. The Pretoria peace agreement ended that war, but fighting resumed in September, with government-allied forces entering Mekelle, Tigray’s capital, on October 4, after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front withdrew.
Lemma's plea agreement with U.S. federal prosecutors includes a recommended prison term of between 10 years and 21 years and 10 months, pending court acceptance. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 14, 2027.