Ethiopia sentences five to death over coup plot

Addis Ababa, 22 Dec-(ANA)-An Ethiopian court has sentenced five people to death and 33 others to life in prison for plotting to assassinate officials and topple the government.

Four of the five were sentenced in absentia while the fifth, opposition leader Melaku Tefera, was in court for the verdict.

"All were accused of conspiring to overthrow the constitutional government by force, to destroy development projects, to assassinate senior government officials and instigate the armed forces to rise against the constitutional order," a Justice Ministry spokesman told Reuters. (ANA)

FA/ANA/22 December 2009---