Court Grants Police More Days for Investigations on Defense Force Officers, Top TPLF Leader

Addis Ababa January 6/2021 (ENA)  The Federal First Instance Court granted police additional days for further investigations on four TPLF criminal army officer suspects and former Ambassador Addisalem Balema, a top party leader.

The court has granted nine additional days for the police to finalize its investigations on four senior defense officers, including Brigadier General Aligaz Gebre.

The Federal First Instance Court Arada bench looked into the case of Brigadier General Aligaz and three other suspected army officers who conspired with the TPLF junta.

Brigadier General Aligaz Gebre and Colonel Abrha Tadele Gebru were in charge of the Defense Training College, and  Colonel Gebreselassie Belay and Major Wolday Samren also worked at the college.

Police said the suspects were suspected of carrying out attacks on members of the National Defense Force by providing information for the Tigray Special Force and sent military and radio communication apparatus to Tigray Regional State.

The officers were also members of the clandestine group established to carry out attacks on the army from Tigray to Addis Ababa, police alleged.

Lawyers of the suspects on their part said the charges were not elaborate and none of their had committed such crimes. They complained that the request of the police for additional days are mere delaying tactics that should not be warranted.

However, the court finally granted police additional days for further investigations on the four TPLF criminal army officer suspects. 

Similarly, the court has granted police 14 additional days for further investigation of the alleged criminal former Ambassador Addisalem Balema.

The former ambassador and one of the top members of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) was passing information and secrets of the House of Federation (HoF) to the now fugitive former Tigray Regional State Deputy Chief Administrator Debretsion Gebremichael, according to the police.

The suspect was also mobilizing the Ethiopian Diasporas to lobby with the European Union (EU) to pressurize the Ethiopian government and support TPLF. 

The suspect stated that he had served the country for 30 years as a minister, ambassador and other capacities and denied that he had not committed the crimes the police alleged.