Ethiopian Contractor Arrested for Espionage, Accused of Stealing US Satellite Imagery

A State Department contractor, Abraham T. Lemma, has been charged with two counts of espionage and willful retention of national defense information for stealing classified documents, including satellite imagery and sensitive military information about activities in Africa. Lemma, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Ethiopian descent, is accused of sharing the stolen information with Ethiopia. This case follows recent leaks within the American government, raising concerns about security and employee access. The court documents reveal that Lemma had been employed by the State Department since at least 2021 and had access to classified systems as an information technology administrator in its intelligence arm. He is alleged to have taken over 100 documents containing classified information and communicated with a foreign intelligence official using an encrypted platform.