An Ethiopian court has sentenced a former local official to death for murder and being part of an Eritrea-backed terrorist organisation, the state news agency ENA said Wednesday. 'The federal high court on Tuesday condemned engineer Jemua Ruphael Amen to death for having killed three innocent people and for cooperating with a terrorist group in Benishangul Gumuz,' ENA said. Before his indictment Jemua was in charge of economic planning at local government level. 'He organised a self-styled Benishangul Gumuz freedom movement and, with the backing of the Eritrean government, carried out terrorist acts against local people until he was arrested by the police,' ENA said. According to Amnesty International, at least 11 death sentences were pronounced in Ethiopia in 2009 but only two have been executed in the past 10 years and none since 2007. Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have been strained since the 1998-2000 border war which left more than 80,000 dead. Each country accuses the other of backing its rebellions. 