Ethiopia arrests 63 military officers for corruption, abuse
News & Trends •
metec officials were involved in purchases of 2 billion worth of goods without any bidding process berhanu said1 no fewer than 63 ethiopian senior military and intelligence officers have been arrested for alleged corruption and human-rights abuses1 tsegaye did not name any of the suspects but said some had already been taken to court1 the arrests are a rare move against the countrys powerful security apparatus1 they represent a further flexing of power by reformist prime minister abiy ahmed who is seeking to break with ethiopias authoritarian past analysts said1 he said the suspected corruption occurred at the military-run metals and engineering corporation metec1 he attorney general mr. berhanu tsegaye said twenty-seven officials have been arrested for alleged corrupt practices while 36 have been detained for alleged human rights abuses with a manhunt underway for remaining suspects1 he pointed out that the company had been involved in the construction of ethiopias immense signature grand ethiopian renaissance dam1 abiy made an unusual public admission earlier this year that security officials had engaged in abuses and torture with impunity1 on monday berhanu outlined some of the allegations of abuse committed at secret prisons in the capital addis ababa and elsewhere1 detainees were subjected to various abuses including gang rapes sodomy prolonged exposure to extreme heat and cold waterboarding and deprivation of sunlight he said1 berhanu also provided a brief update on the case of a grenade explosion at a june rally addressed by abiy that left two people dead saying that an unnamed intelligence officer was suspected of involvement1