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Eritrean man convicted in Houston of immigrant smuggling

Houston Chronicle

An Eritrean citizen has been convicted of helping to smuggle illegal immigrants from East Africa into the country in an international human trafficking scheme, federal officials said.

Samuel Abrahaley Fessahazion, 23, pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in Houston to one count of conspiracy and two counts of encouraging and inducing immigrants to come to, enter or reside in the United States in violation of law for the purpose of private financial gain, authorities said on Tuesday.

He is scheduled to be sentenced June 14 and faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Large network

According to plea documents, from at least June 2007 until approximately January 2008, Fessahazion was the Guatemalan link of a smuggling network that spanned East Africa and Central and South America.

In one instance, according to court documents, Fessahazion was part of a plan to move two illegal immigrants from South Africa to Brazil and then through Venezuela to Honduras, where they were told to contact Fessahazion, who then had them brought to Guatemala.

For $800, federal authorities said, Fessahazion took them by bus to a house near the border of Guatemala and Mexico. Then he and another smuggler helped them find a guide to take them into Mexico and to find another smuggler who helped ferry them across the Rio Grande on inner tubes from Reynosa, Mexico.

He helped another person who had been moved from Dubai to enter the United States in a similar manner, federal officials said.

Solomon Berhane

Ethiopia - Eritrea: Man found guilty in poker game robbery

WKYC- Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason said Solomon Berhane [a native of Ethiopia or Eritrea], has been found guilty of 12 counts of aggravated robbery and 12 counts of kidnapping for his part in the April 17, 2009, incident where twelve men playing poker in the Allied Lighting warehouse on Naiman Parkway in Solon, Ohio where robbed.

Judge Brian Corrigan will sentence Berhane, 31, along with his six co-defendants, on April 14.

Around midnight April 17, 2009, four of the defendants wearing masks entered the warehouse armed with guns and robbed the men of poker money, property, and money they had on them.

A watch and credit cards were also stolen, totaling approximately $75,000 in cash and property.

Five of the defendants pleaded guilty in March. Andres Arzola, 19, of Lorain, Jose Arzola-Torres, 20, of Lorain, and Dominic Berlingeri, 24, of Lorain, each pleaded guilty to 12 counts of aggravated robbery with gun specifications.

Randall Barnes, 25, of Euclid, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of robbery with gun specifications.

Wayne Bunkin, 31, of Novelty, pleaded guilty to robbery.

In January, William Masters, 38, of Pine Bluff, Arizona, pleaded guilty to the following: 12 counts of aggravated robbery, 12 counts of kidnapping, 1 count of disrupting public service, and 1 count of vandalism, with gun specifications.

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Crew that robbed high-stakes poker game in Solon found guilty of robbery, kidnapping

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 31-year-old Cleveland man was found guilty Tuesday of being part of a gang that robbed 12 men who were playing a high-stakes poker game at Allied Lighting in Solon last April.

Solomon Berhane was found guilty of 12 counts of aggravated robbery with a weapon, 12 counts of kidnapping with a weapon, and disrupting public service and vandalism in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

He was one of seven men who robbed the players around midnight on April 17, 2009 and made off with $50,000 in cash and credit cards, and jewelry, a watch and other property totaling $25,000, according to a news release from the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office.


More from Cleveland.com

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Justice for Ethiopia Protest Opposite Downing Street - Pictures

Ethiopians gathered opposite Downing Street to protest against the visit of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Today he met with Gordon Brown concerning the UN climate change finance group. London, England, 31/03/2010.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon selected Gordon Brown and Meles Zenawi to co-chair the High-level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing back in February in order to make funds accessible to developing countries, such as Ethiopia, as set out during the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen last December.

Click here to see pictures of Ethiopians protesting against Meles Zenawi in London

Ethiopia enacts assets and property registration law


APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)

Ethiopia on Wednesday enacted legislation for the registration of assets and properties by officials as part of the country’s war against corruption, APA learns here.

The law calls for government officials and their relatives to register their assets and properties after six months of the coming into force of the new law.

The officials are urged to finalize registering their assets within six months of period, which will commence after six months of the coming into force of the law.

The draft law, which was first presented by a foreign consultant eight years ago, is expected to help Ethiopia to minimize the prevalence of corruption in the country.

The Ethiopian parliament approved the bill providing for disclosure and registration of assets of government officials after thorough discussions of the details when the bill was presented to it from the Legal and Administration Affairs Standing Committee by a majority vote.

However, the opposition parties at the parliament opposed the six months period set to begin registering the assets of the officials saying that it will give ample time to corrupt officials to siphon away their ill-gotten assets.

The new law also requires government officials and their relatives to register their properties, and not to accept any gift in connection with their duties.

It is however not clear if the officials will be asked where and how they got their assets when they go for registration, which the opposition parties also expressed their concern on.

Ethiopia’s Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission will carry out the registration of the assets.

Ethiopia launches electric car despite power shortages

BBC News

Ethiopia has launched an electric car, despite suffering from power shortages. It is only the second African country to do so, after South Africa.

Two versions of the Solaris Elettra will be manufactured in Addis Ababa, costing around $12,000 and $15,000.

The cars will be sold in Ethiopia and exported to Africa and Europe.

But some doubt if Africa, where erratic power supplies, low levels of personal wealth and poor infrastructure are common, is ready for electric cars.

Carlo Pironti, general manager of Freestyle PLC, the company producing the Solaris, told the BBC's Uduak Amimo in Addis Ababa that Ethiopia's electricity shortages were not a major obstacle to operating an electric car.

"Ethiopia in future will have lots of power supply," he said.

"In any case, the car can be recharged by generator and by solar power."

Taxes on cars in Ethiopia can be more than 100% and many Ethiopians with low incomes will struggle to afford an electric car.

To overcome this problem, Mr Pironti says his company will develop a credit system for less affluent customers.

Six Solaris Elettras will be produced every week for the next three months, rising to 30 per week when Freestyle's factory in Addis Ababa is fully operational, he says.

Mr Pironti says he wants to take the Solaris "from a green country to a green world," referring to the company's plans to export the car from Ethiopia to Africa and beyond.

But Wayne Batty, senior writer at South Africa's Topcar magazine, believes only a small percentage of Africa has the necessary infrastructure to support an electric car.

Mr Batty told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that electric cars are fine for short trips of 40 to 50 km (25 to 31 miles), but African countries lack the recharging points for longer journeys.

Ethiopia's electric car comes after Rwanda launched its first bio-diesel bus last week.

It is currently building a huge hydro-electric dam on the Omo river and hopes to become a major exporter of energy when that is completed.