Eritrea arrests over 200 Christians in one year

YAOUNDE, Cameroon – Eritrea, located in East Africa, is ranked among the top ten countries in the world where following Jesus is an extremely dangerous endeavor.

A July 3 report by Release International, a U.K.-based organization that covers the persecuted church worldwide, said at least 218 Christians have been arrested in Eritrea in the past 12 months, including many women and children.

“This latest crackdown means that around 400 Christians are currently imprisoned – indefinitely, without trial or charge – because of their faith,” the report said.

Between January and May, 110 Christians were captured.

“In the latest round of arrests, some children were arrested with their parents and in some cases the entire family is in prison,” said Dr. Berhane Asmelash, a former religious prisoner and local partner of Release International.

“We are very concerned about the physical and mental well-being of the children, some of whom are as young as two years old. This is totally unacceptable and we strongly condemn this inhumane act by the Eritrean government,” he said.

Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after 30 years of war. Former independence leader Isaias Afwerki has ruled the country ever since.

Afwerki initially led the country toward democratic rule, but then became increasingly authoritarian, which came at a cost to the church. His government recognizes only four state religions, namely the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Sunni Islam, the Catholic Church, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eritrea, but even with these, the government exercises strict control over their activities, finances, and preaching.

“There is absolutely no tolerance for any talk of persecution or government interference in Church affairs,” Open Doors says.

Ellis Heasley, public affairs manager for Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said: Node In a previous interview, “in Eritrea, Christians continue to face widespread imprisonment and other violations of their basic human rights.”

“Many are familiar with the case of Abune (Father) Antonios, the legitimate Patriarch of the Orthodox Church, who died on February 9, 2022, after 16 years of house arrest. He had been removed from office in 2006, in violation of canon law, for repeatedly opposing government interference in church affairs and refusing to excommunicate members of the Orthodox Renewal movement. He died while being accused of having received an injection of an unknown substance that had adverse effects on his health,” he said.

“The Patriarch’s unjustified detention throughout the last years of his life is indicative of the Eritrean authorities’ continuing hostility toward Christian groups in the country. The government has effectively ‘captured’ the Orthodox Church, controlling its finances, selling off its assets, approving and imposing leaders, and imprisoning priests and others who oppose it,” he said.

Release International's recent report comes as the US State Department released its International Religious Freedom Report, which listed Eritrea as a country of particular concern “for committing or tolerating particularly serious violations of religious freedom.”

This has always been the case in this Horn of Africa country since 2004.

Nigerian Archbishop of Abuja, Ignatius Kaigama, said Node that the violation of the right to belief fundamentally violates all other freedoms.

“Freedom of religion is not just an American right, but the right of all people. It goes hand in hand with freedom of expression, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly, and when freedom of religion is restricted, all of those rights are threatened. And for that reason, freedom of religion is often the barometer of other human rights,” Kaigama said.

Kaigama said that although religious freedom is under threat in many parts of the world, the media has neglected its coverage.

“A journalist imprisoned in Iran is likely to attract more attention than three thousand Christians killed or enslaved in Sudan,” he said. Node.

Heasley of Christian Solidarity Worldwide said his organization continues to call on “the Eritrean government to immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience in the country and end the use of torture, arbitrary arrests and indefinite detention.”

“We urge Eritrea to cooperate fully with the UN Human Rights Council and its special procedures to improve the human rights situation and to fully implement the recommendations made by successive special rapporteurs and the Commission of Inquiry,” she said. Node.