Paedophile suspect in court

A British former aid worker accused of sexually abusing young orphans in his charge appeared in an Ethiopian court on Monday. David Christie, 59, did not enter a plea in court - where he had a translator but not a lawyer - but told journalists he was not guilty, AFP said. Christie, who changed his name to Allen after fleeing Ethiopia six years ago, complained that since being arrested at the airport he had not been given access to a lawyer or to British consular officials. Referring to himself as Allen, he told journalists that his young accusers had been intimidated into making their allegations. Allen is accused of abusing children in 1996 at the Ethiopian orphanage he ran for the Swiss-based children’s charity Terre des Hommes, but has not yet been formally charged. His arrest followed a joint operation between Ethiopian and Zambian police. The judge gave police two weeks to continue their enquiries, and set the next court appearance for 2 September, AFP said.

A representative from the British High Commission in Addis Ababa, Laura Williams, said Allen had been in police custody since 17 August, and that the vice-consul from the High Commission had visited him that day and given him a list of lawyers to contact for his defence, Reuters news agency said.