Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Breaking News: Siye Abraha Out from Jail

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

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(Must Listen!)
[AUDIO] CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO SIYE ABRAHA’S VOA INTERVIEW
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Also:
- Today's Top HEADLINES
- H.R. 2003 campaign (urgent action needed)
- INTERNATIONAL news
- Picture of the day

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"I am pleased to join my family and see them happy......I should not have spent a day in jail, let alone six years" - Siye

Siye also paid tribute to former judge Birtukan Mideksa, who had granted his release on bail six years ago and is now behind bars.

Siye Abraha, former strongman of the TPLF, made his way out of jail on Wednesday, June 11, after spending six years there, accused of involvement in grand corruption. He was released a day after the Federal Supreme Court sentenced him for five years imprisonment and 500 Br fine.

"I am pleased to join my family and see them happy," Siye told Fortune on Wednesday late afternoon, in a telephone interview he gave from his home. He was not the only one to have received sentences on Tuesday, June 10, 2007.

This is a case that has been long fought following the top party leadership rupture in the Tigray Peoples' Liberation Front (TPLF) in early 2000. Coming out after a bloody conflict with Eritrea, some members held the view that a threat in the leadership was to surrender the party to foreign 'imperialist' interests.

This group included Siye, while others who still hold power today, including Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, argued that the ruling party was sinking into decadence, describing it at the time as transformation into Bonapartism. They accused some members of the party leadership of involvement in grand corruption.(More...)

CAMPAIGN TO MARK-UP H.R. 2003 (Urgent Action Needed)

- Who to contact: [List of Foreign affairs committee members]
- Contacting Foreign affairs committee Members by Phone
- Contacting Foreign affairs committee Members by Fax

Today's Top HEADLINES

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-Irish agency urges Irish PM to save Ethiopian opposition leaders
-SOCEPP-CAN Calls for release of political prisoners in Ethiopia
-U.S. to Build Largest Embassy Structure in Addis Abeba
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-'Lucy's' Houston visit turns political
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-Eight killed as blasts rock Mogadishu market again

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

-Libya upholds death sentences in HIV case
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-Battle at Pakistani Mosque Ends
-Qaeda's Zawahri threatens more attacks in UK: tape
-Chinese applaud ex-official's execution
-'Most expensive' US home on sale
-Nation bans karaoke bars, Internet cafes?


Picture of the day

Picture released by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History shows a jaw bone of a fossil unearthed in the Afar desert at Woranso-Mille, 140 miles (225 km) outside Addis Ababa.


Ethiopian scientists said on Tuesday they have discovered hominid fossil fragments dating from between 3.5 million and 3.8 million years ago in what could fill a crucial gap in the understanding of human evolution. REUTERS.

Also see: Ethiopia unveils new find of ancient fossils



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