A leader of Ethiopian rebel group, Ginbot-7, who was detained in Yemen on June 23 is said to have already been extradited to Ethiopia.

Andargachew Tsegie, a British national and second-in-command of the group, was detained at Sena’a airport while in transit from Dubai to Eritrea, where the group’s armed unit is stationed.

Ginbot-7, which broke the news of Andargachew Tsigie’s detention last Monday, claimed today that he has been handed over to Ethiopia.

In an official statement released a few hours ago today, the group claimed that “our effort for the past one week to secure Andargachew Tsigie’s release was not successful”. The statement vaguely places the date of the extradition after Tuesday this week. However, that could be an attempt to preclude criticisms from its supporters for not making the matter public.

Britain blamed

The group also put the blame on the British government. In a comment to the Guardian, spokesperson of the group said: “The British knew he was being held in Yemen for almost a week but they did nothing,” said Ephrem Madebo, a spokesman for Ginbot 7. “

However, an official statement from the British government that Horn Affairs received claimed that: “UK officials have been pressing the Yemeni authorities at senior levels to establish his whereabouts, including meeting with the Yemeni Ambassador in London this week. We are aware of reports that he may now be in Ethiopia and we are urgently seeking confirmation from the relevant authorities given our deep concerns about the case.”

In another comment to media, the British Foreign Ministry noted its “concerns about the death penalty that Mr Tsige could face in Ethiopia”. Though Andargachew Tsigie has been sentenced to death in absentia in connection to a foiled attempt to “overthrow the Constitutional order”, it is unlikely that he will be executed. Ethiopia has not implemented death penalty for about 10 years and can be considered as have abolished it de facto.

Ethiopia and Yemen remain silent

Both Ethiopian and Yemeni officials who remained silent so far, made vague remarks yesterday and today.

Ethiopian Prime Minister’s advisor Getachew Reda was quoted as saying that it would be the right if Yemen extradites Andargachew Tsigie to Ethiopia.

Getachew told Horn Affairs that Al-jazeera’s heading “Ethiopia asks Yemen to extradite activist” was misleading as there has not been official request made to that end.

Responding to Horn Affairs’ query whether Andargachew Tsigie has been extradited, Ethiopian Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ambassador Dina Mufti responded “we have no information on the matter.”

Yemeni officials similarly declined to provide details on the matter.

AFP quoted an unnamed Yemeni National Security official as saying that Andargachew Tsigie was held because his name was “on a list”, without giving further details.

Whereas a Yemen’s newspaper reported that: A senior Interior Ministry official said that Ethiopian opposition leader, Andargachew Tsege, Secretary General of Ginbot 7 Movement for Justice, Freedom

Ginbot-7 makes further threats

The group made further threats against Ethiopia and Yemen today. In its statement released today, the group said:

“The government of Yemen has made unforgivable historic mistake…..the people of Ethiopia know how to retaliate”, adding that “each and every Ethiopian official will personally pay for the sufferings of Andargarchew Tsigie”.

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Read previous reports for more details:
* ‘Accidentally detained’ Ethiopian rebel puts Britain in an awkward position
* Ethiopian group threatens to retaliate as Yemen detains its leader