Dear,
       .

Government Reformers, Journalists and Political Prisoners

Several thousand prisoners of conscience have remained in incommunicado detention for years, many of them in secret locations or military prisons, where they are at risk of ill-treatment, torture, and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. In 2001, a crackdown on dissent led to the detention of eleven former government leaders, journalists for the private media, and hundreds of other alleged dissidents. Some have been held in secret prison locations and several reportedly died of illness, denial of adequate medical treatment, and injuries sustained from torture.

Among those who died was Fessehaye "Joshua" Yohannes, a former Amnesty International USA Special Focus Case prisoner who was held incommunicado for over six years following his arrest. Other prisoners who have reportedly died in custody include General Ogbe Abraha and Vice President Mahmoud Sheriffo. The government of Eritrea has not replied to appeals to clarify the fate of these prisoners nor their whereabouts, and no independent access to the prisoners has been permitted.

For copies of this postcard, contact the Amnesty International Individuals at Risk Program at aiusaso@aiusa.org

Eritrea is state party to numerous human rights conventions, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; The Convention on the Rights of the Child; and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. It has not signed the Convention Against Torture.

Taking Action! Local Groups Support Human Rights in Eritrea
Amnesty International USA local groups have publicized the plight of Eritrean prisoners of conscience, pressed for information on their conditions and whereabouts, and ultimately, their release.

Group 19 in Palo Alto, California adopted journalist Mattewos Habteab. They have written letters on a monthly basis, circulated petitions, hosted speakers from Eritrea and the US Embassy in Asmara, networked with Eritrean diaspora activists, and created a website to facilitate information sharing and actions on behalf of the detained journalists.

Tabling by Group 19 in Palo Alto. Photo by Samson Tu. Used with permission.

To take action and help the Eritrean journalists, visit the website.

Group 612 in Hayward, California has adopted former government official Petros Solomon. In addition to holding a Global Write-A-Thon, they have contacted members of Congress, tabled to publicize conditions in Eritrea, met with Eritrean activists, and taken steps to have the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances take up Petros Solomon's case.

In April, 2007 Group 664 in Knoxville, TN and the AIUSA chapter at the University of Tennessee, along with Eritrea Country Specialist Dr. Tricia Hepner, organized a panel discussion on Eritrea. Guest speakers included Aaron Berhane, a journalist and former colleague of Joshua Yohannes, and Dr. Yonas Mehari, Director of the Eritrean Community for Human Rights and Refugee Protection. Following the discussion, a musical slideshow entitled "Justice for Joshua" illustrated the plight of POCs.

Religious Persecution and Interference

Members of Group 612 at the Global Write-a-thon, May 2007, Oakland, CA. The group also held a birthday party for Petros Solomon. Used with permission.

Minority faith groups remain banned. In 2002, the government forcibly closed numerous evangelical churches and banned home worship and Bible study. To date, over two thousand people have been arrested for their religious affiliations or beliefs, including at  private functions and while serving in the military.

Many religious prisoners have been held in aluminum shipping containers and often tortured to force them to recant their faith as a condition of release. Among those held illegally on the grounds of religious belief was gospel singer and Rhema Church member Helen Berhane, who was released in 2006 after spending two years in Mai Serwa army camp where she was routinely tortured. Now confined to a wheelchair because of her injuries, Helen was recently granted political asylum in Denmark.

View Press Release

While the government recognized the Orthodox, Lutheran, Catholic, and Muslim faiths as official and has permitted them to function, it has interfered into internal church matters. For example, in mid-2005 the government stripped the Orthodox Patriarch (Abune) Antonios from his office for protesting the arrest of several Orthodox priests. In May 2007 he was moved to undisclosed location. The government has also issued threats to Orthodox Church leaders in the diaspora who protested the government's interference into church matters.

Taking Action!

Military Conscription and Repression of Civil Society

Military training and National Service remain compulsory and indefinite for both young men and women. Routine sweeps known as giffa are intended to pick up "draft dodgers" and reportedly include many underage youth. The internationally recognized right of conscientious objection has been denied, and evasion or desertion by military conscripts is widespread. The government has instituted harsh measures in response, such as the detention and exorbitant fining of parents of evaders or deserters.

Public Statement:Eritrea: Over 500 parents of conscripts arrested

In recent years, the government has folded the final year of high school into military service. A crackdown on University of Asmara students in 2001 who sought to organize independently of the government, followed by the closure of the central campus of the university, has led increasing numbers of educated young people to leave the country. No political parties other than the PFDJ, nor independent civil society organizations, are permitted to exist.

Refugees and Asylum Seekers

According to the UNHCR, Eritrea today ranks 12th on the list of countries producing the most refugees. In addition to those who have fled across the nearest international borders, especially Sudan and Ethiopia, many asylum seekers have undertaken perilous journeys to countries like Libya, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Malta. Others find their way to the United States, European Union countries, the United Kingdom, and Australia. In 2002 and 2003, hundreds of asylum seekers were forcibly deported from Malta and Libya respectively, where they were detained upon arrival in Eritrea. In October 2007, a young woman, Miskir Semerab Goitom, was deported from the United Kingdom and reportedly disappeared upon arrival in Eritrea. Refugees and asylum seekers from Eritrea remain vulnerable worldwide to deportation to Eritrea, where they are at grave risk for detention, torture, and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The UNHCR has recommended that refugees and asylum seekers from Eritrea not be returned to that country.

Taking Action!

The Role of the Eritrean Diaspora

A growing percentage of Eritrea's population lives outside of the country. For decades, the Eritrean government (first the Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front, or EPLF, and now the PFDJ) has retained an official presence in diaspora communities. Diaspora communities contributed extensively to the movement for Eritrean independence and provided important financial support to the government and to their family members.

The government has also sought to control diaspora communities' activities, and has threatened people who oppose it. In recent years, Eritreans globally have spearheaded new movements based on human rights. Some of these groups are building grassroots links with AIUSA activists and other non-governmental organizations, as well as lobbying the US and other governments. Through demonstrations, petitions, websites, and radio, they are exercising their rights to freedom of speech, conscience, expression, association, and assembly. They also provide crucial support and advocacy for Eritrean asylum seekers, helping to protect their human rights worldwide.

Eritrean activists demonstrate at the Eritrean Embassy in Washington DC in 2006.Photo credit Yonas Mehari.