JW Eritrea:'It was very painful to lose such a friend': Jehovah's Witnesses imprisoned in Eritrea mark 25 years of captivity and torture

[Guest Indiana]

Tuesday marks the 25th anniversary of the imprisonment of three Jehovah's Witnesses in Eritrea, where they have been subject to torture and allowed little contact with the world outside the prison walls.

Paulos Eyasu, Isaac Mogos, and Negede Teklemariam were detained on Sept. 17, 1994, apparently because they conscientiously objected to military service, according to a report published in August by the Jehovah's Witnesses' Office of Public Information. They were held at the Sawa military training camp until 2017, when they were transferred to Mai Serwa prison, where they were briefly granted access to visitors for the first time since their imprisonment. None of the three have been charged or granted a hearing.

Their detention has also proven painful for friends and family, and one described his sorrow at losing his friend a quarter-century ago.

"I was with him the night before they arrested him," said Eyasu's friend, who asked for anonymity for protection. "Our families spent the whole evening together. That was the last time I saw my friend. He has been imprisoned for the past 25 years. It was very painful to lose such a friend. I know he has not done anything wrong, and he has been suffering for so long, it really breaks my heart. He was a very honest, hardworking, upright man. He was young and a person of impeccable character."

Read more: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/it-was-very-painful-to-lose-such-a-friend-jehovahs-witnesses-imprisoned-in-eritrea-mark-25-years-of-captivity-and-torture