By BosNewsLife Senior Special Correspondent Eric Leijenaar and BosNewsLife’s Stefan J. Bos

eritrea_pastor
Eritrean Evangelical pastors, like this young man, can face detention and torture, rights groups say. Via Open Doors

ASMARA, ERITREA (BosNewsLife)– At least two detained Christians have died this month in Eritrea after a “long period of torture” in a notorious military prison camp, while the number of Christians jailed in the African nation because of their faith approaches 3,000, a well-informed Christian rights group said Wednesday, January 21.

Netherlands-based Open Doors, which has close contacts with reportedly persecuted Christians in Eritrea and around the world, identified the two men as Mogos Hagos Kiflom, 37, and Mehari Gebreneguse Asgedom, 42.

Asgedom,  a member of the evangelical Church of the Living God in Mendefera, reportedly died Friday, January 16, of torture and complications from diabetes.  His death came after fellow Christian Kiflom was said to have died as a result of torture he endured for refusing to recant his faith, Open Doors said.

The exact date of his death was unknown. Authorities have apparently refused to give more details or to allow an independent autopsy. “The two died in the Mitire-Camp; Asgedom died in an isolation jail,” Open Doors told BosNewsLife.

The Mitire Camp, located in north-west Eritrea, is a “new military concentration camp” notorious for abuses, the advocacy group said. It was reportedly set up especially for accommodating Christians. The two Christians passed away shortly Open Doors told BosNewsLife earlier that in October  Teklesenbet Gebreab Kiflom, 36, died while imprisoned for his faith at the Wi’a Military Confinement center. He was reported to have died after prison commanders refused to give him medical attention for malaria.

THOUSANDS DETAINED

Eritrean church leaders in comments released by Open Doors said 2907 Christians are now known to be detained in Eritrea, up from roughly 2,000 reported last year.

Most of those detained are described as “Bible-believing Christians” who are active in evangelical and Protestant movements, Open Doors said.

Advocacy groups claim many have been held in military camps, as well as shipping containers, police stations and other facilities.

Since May 2002 only the Eritrese Orthodoxe Church, the Roman Catholic and Lutheran Churches are allowed as part of government efforts to crackdown on Christian activities,
several advocacy groups said.

Even within those churches leaders have complained off harassment: In 2006, the government removed Orthodox Patriarch Abune Antonios from office.

STATE INTERFERENCE

Human rights group Amnesty International attributed his removal to his criticism of alleged state interference in church activities, including a crackdown on several evangelical Christian movements popular with some young Eritreans.

The government of autocratic President Isaias Afewerki has dismissed the allegations, saying it was an internal Church matter. Eritrea also condemned human rights organizations and the United States, who regularly accuse authorities here of religious persecution, especially against unregistered evangelical congregations.

“The government severely restricts freedom of religion for groups that it has not registered and infringes upon the independence of some registered groups,” the United States State Department said in a recent report.

It also said the Eritrean government continues to “harass, arrest, and detain members of unregistered minority religious groups” while seeking “greater control over the four approved religious groups.”

RELIGIOUS GROUPS

Eritrea’s Government allegedly also “failed to register religious groups, and it restricted religious meetings and arrested individuals during religious gatherings.” In addition, it  detained people refusing to serve in the military for religious reasons, the State Department said.

And, US officials cited “reports of forced recantations of faith and torture of religious detainees, who were held in harsh conditions.” Asmara has denounced such reports as “fabrications” and “childish plots by colonialists” using religious issues to “create division and conflict” in a bid to weaken the country. However rights groups point out that independent Christian and other religious groups are often viewed as a threat by autocratic regimes wanting to control people’s believes and ideas.

The controversy comes at a time when President Afewerki is criticized for allegedly failing to implement other democratic reforms, as his government has clamped down on critics and  closed private press.

Eritrea has been ruled for many years by Isaias Afewerki, who was elected president by the national assembly in 1993. New presidential elections, planned for 1997, never materialised. The East African nation is a one-party state, with the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice the only party allowed to operate.

7 COMMENTS

  1. Dear BosNewslife,

    I am very pleased everytime you expose the regime. This regime is bruttal and they do not care for their people. Not only christians, but all youth of the nation are under harsh conditions of prison and torture. Many cliques of the government will send you a lot of blackmailing emails indicating that this is alie and rubush. They will even say they are proud of the government. But you shall search the truth. What you are saying is true and I have a lot of friends arrested and tortured in Mitre prison or to be specific concentration camp. Keep up the good work and may God guide you in search of the truth. God Bless You

  2. Dear Haile and Hanna,

    Thanks for your comments and we will continue to expose reports of persecution in Eritrea and other countries. Hanna, we have added some more details on the government at the end of the story.

    Stefan J. Bos,

    BosNewsLife

  3. How about forgeting to expose or not to expose the govrnment and praying for those suffering in prision. only God has the power to end this. I rember the days we wept and cry for the indipendence for eritrea infront of god with many of my christian brothers, what I didn’t know then was we were praying for this. In part we the children of god are responsible for bringing this to this nation. may be, yea, may be that is why we are suffering more than any body with this all mess. I always ask for frogivness for bringing this to this nation, with the power of my prayer.

  4. we had secret church last friday, we all got together and prayed for our brothers and sisters who are being presicuted for preachen the good news. we prayed that god will give you strength and boldness.

  5. I too, pray for these people who are locked away in these camps and persecuted for His names sake. Dear Lord, We praise You. You are great and Great is the martyrs reward.The Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works. The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing.

    May they all continue in their calling to stand firm in their faith and May God continue to joy over them with singing and may they feel His peace as He surrounds them as they walk ‘through’ this valley of the ‘shadow’ of death and may they fear no evil for God is with them. Our God carries a big rod of iron and He will gather His sheep in due time with His staff. May they rest in the shadows of His wing.

    In Jesus name- Amen

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