Ethiopia sentences five to death over coup plot

An Ethiopian court sentenced five people to death on Tuesday and 33 others to life in prison for plotting to assassinate officiaals 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.
Ethiopia has not carried out any executions for years, and convicts sentenced to die typically languish on death row. Among the four sentenced to death in absentia was Ethiopian-born US citizen, Berhanu Nega, who teaches economics at Philadelphia's Bucknell University.