ADDIS ABABA– The Ethiopian Embassy in Beijing is closely following the case of Ethiopian woman, Nazrawit Abera, detained in China, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Nebiyat Getachew, Spokesperson for the Ministry told The Ethiopian Herald that ever since her detention, the Ethiopian Embassy in Beijing and Consulate General Office in Guangzhou have been closely following the issue using the access right to visit citizens.
The right allows every country to visit citizens that are held suspect in other countries to make sure that they are receiving proper treatment, he said. “We have so far visited her three times through our Consulate General Office,” he said. Nebiyat also added that no charge had been established so far and Nazrawit had not yet been sentenced. Nazrawit Abera, 28, has spent more than three months in a Chinese prison on drug charges.
In December, Nazrawit, a civil engineer, flew from Addis Ababa to Beijing to pursue a job opportunity and learn about home building materials, according to her older sister, Abby Abera. But when she landed at Beijing Capital Airport, officials detained Nazrawit and inspected her luggage. They found five shampoo bottles filled with cocaine. Chinese police arrested Nazrawit on drug trafficking charges, which carry severe penalties in China.
Abby told VOA the bottles did not belong to Nazrawit, and that her sister agreed to bring them as a favor to a friend from elementary school who had planned to accompany Nazrawit. The friend told Nazrawit that the bottles contained expensive Brazilian shampoo, according to Abby.
On Tuesday, Nazrawit’s friend, Samerawit Kahesaye, a suspect for giving the drug to Nazrawit was detained with her friend Solomon Tsegaye in Addis Ababa. Police have also found evidence of the drug which allegedly came from Brazil and led to the imprisonment of Nazerawit inside Solomon’s house. The Ethiopian Attorney General is investigating the trafficking network.
The Ethiopian Herald April 11, 2019
BY ABIY HAILU
