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Christian Solidarity Worldwide has been informed that 70 Christians from evangelical and orthodox backgrounds were recently released from three prisons in Eritrea. On 1 February, 21 female and 43 male prisoners were released from Mai Serwa and Adi Abeito prisons, close to the capital city, Asmara. The prisoners had been held without charge or trial for periods of between two and 12 years. On 27 January, six female prisoners who were detained in September 2020 in Dekemhare, south-east of Asmara, were also released. The women were arrested after worshipping in public as they were walking down a street, an event which was caught on camera and circulated via social media. While the releases have been warmly welcomed, there is also speculation that they mark the latest effort by the Eritrean regime to distract international attention from the country's active role in the ongoing war in Ethiopia's Tigray region, where Eritrean troops have been accused of violence which may amount to crimes against humanity, war crimes and possibly genocide. On 4 December 2020, the government released 24 Jehovah's Witnesses, including the high-profile conscientious objectors Paulos Eyasu, Isaac Mogos and Negede Teklemariam, who had been held for 26 years, and whose cases were highlighted by the former UN Special Rapporteur on Eritrea in her final statement to the UN Third Committee in New York in October 2020. Read more: https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/41486

Los 28 miembros de grupo llevaban en prisión hasta 26 años Eritrea liberó el fin de semana a 28 miembros de los Testigos de Jehová que llevaban en prisión entre cinco y 26 años sin haber sido juzgados, según informó el grupo religioso, si bien las autoridades eritreas no confirmaron oficialmente la ex carcelación. De acuerdo con el comunicado publicado por los Testigos de Jehová, la liberación se produjo el viernes pasado y aún hay 24 miembros del grupo que siguen encarcelados, mientras que otros siete fallecieron en prisión o poco después de ser liberados. “Varios de los detenidos son hombres objetores de conciencia del servicio militar”, explicó la organización. “La mayoría, incluidas mujeres y ancianos, están encarcelados por actividad religiosa o por razones no reveladas", añadió. Leer más: https://www.lajornadamaya.mx/internacional/33228/index.html

The release of 28 Witnesses follows the freeing of 20 Pentecostal and evangelical Christians who had been imprisoned for their faith. NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — In Eritrea, members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses group who had been serving long prison sentences were set free on Friday (Dec. 4), a surprising development for the east African country, where freedom of religion or belief is severely suppressed. The denomination announced that two women and 26 men had been freed after spending between five and 26 years each in prison. The group, as well as another 24 Witnesses who are still in prison, had been incarcerated for their faith. “Several of those jailed are male Witnesses who are conscientious objectors to military service. However, the majority — including women and the elderly — are imprisoned for their religious activity or for undisclosed reasons,” said the denomination in a statement. Jehovah’s Witnesses activities are banned or restricted in several countries, including China, Russia, Singapore and many Muslim-majority countries. In the case of Eritrea, the constitution guarantees the right to the freedom of religion or belief — a possible reason why the jailed Witnesses have never been formally charged or sentenced — but this freedom has never been granted in practice. Read more: https://religionnews.com/2020/12/10/jehovahs-witnesses-released-in-eritrea-a-rare-move-toward-religious-toleration/

“Detainees in Eritrea are at great risk of contracting infectious diseases because of the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions they are being held in,” said Deprose Muchena. At the Mai Serwa Asmera Flowers facility, in reality a forced labour camp where Jehovah’s Witnesses and other detainees are forced to work on flower farms, there are no toilets for detainees. All 700 of them, both men and women, relieve themselves out in the open. At Mai Serwa Maximum Security prison, there are only 20 toilets for 500 detainees. In Adi Abeyito, detainees can relieve themselves only twice daily in toilets located outside the compound. The prison has toilets within its grounds reserved for use in the rainy season or extraordinary circumstances such as suspected strikes or prison breaks. In 2015, detainees raised money and built a toilet in each detention hall to cater for the needs of the sick, elderly or those with disabilities. No social distance The four prisons are extremely congested; Adi Abeyito holds more than four times its capacity of 800 people, Ala prison holding about triple its capacity of 1,200 people while Mai Serwa has more than double its 230-person capacity. The vast majority have never been formally charged or brought to court and do not know when, or if, their detention will end. They are held in spaces ranging from 2x2m cells for solitary confinement at the Mai Serwa Maximum prison, to shipping containers holding more than 20 detainees, and halls measuring up to 10x20m. Detainees generally take turns to sleep on bare floors because beds or mattresses are not allowed. Read more: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/05/eritrea-detainees-in-overcrowded-and-unsanitary-conditions-defenceless-against-covid19/

This week marked 25 years in prison without charges or trial for three men in Eritrea. The trio—identified as Paulos Eyasu, Isaac Mogos and Negede Teklemariam—have been incarcerated in the East African nation since 1994, after refusing to partake in military service, part of their pacifist beliefs as Jehovah's Witnesses. Authorities arrested Eyasu, Mogos and Teklemariam on September 17, 1994, but formal charges were never filed and they've never come before the court. In 2017, they were transferred to Mai Serwa prison, where they were allowed visitors for the first time, according to Human Rights Watch. Paulos Eyasu, Isaac Mogos and Negede Teklemariam have been imprisoned in Eritrea since 1994.JW.ORG https://www.newsweek.com/jehovahs-witness-eritrea-prison-1460564

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