Ethiopia convicts 27 over coup conspiracy

By Barry Malone

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - An Ethiopian court convicted 27 serving and former soldiers on Thursday of planning a coup and found them guilty on other charges which also carry the death penalty.

"The men were convicted of various offences including conspiring to kill government officials and conspiring to instruct the army not to obey government orders," Mekonnen Bezabeih, Justice Ministry spokesman, told Reuters.

"The maximum sentence for the offences would be the death penalty."

A further 13 men were convicted in absentia on the same charges in August. That group included Ethiopian-born U.S. citizen, Berhanu Nega, who teaches economics at Philadelphia's Bucknell University.

Six more men were acquitted on all charges.

Judge Adem Ibrahim warned relatives not to "wail or show emotion" when the verdict was announced but several people cried as the men were convicted.

Scores of police ringed the courtroom and escorted the men to waiting vans.

Berhanu was elected mayor of capital Addis Ababa in Ethiopia's last elections in 2005, but was jailed with other opposition leaders after disputing the government's victory in the election and were accused of orchestrating street protests.