Eritrea

By BosNewsLife Africa Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos CAIRO, EGYPT (BosNewsLife)-- Hundreds of mainly Christian refugees from Eritrea are jailed or or held by kidnappers in Egypt, where they face torture, beatings and sexual assault, according to Christian aid workers who contacted BosNewsLife.

By BosNewsLife Middle East and African Services CAIRO/JERUSALEM (BosNewsLife)-- There was international concern Friday, November 26, over the situation of 80 Eritrean refugees who rights activists said have been held hostage by people smugglers on the Egypt-Israel border for about a month.

By BosNewsLife News Center ASMARA/ROME (BosNewsLife)-- Christian rights activists have expressed concerns over the alleged international efforts by Eritrea's government to intimidate opponents of its policies, after an Italian human rights defender was seriously injured when Eritrean government supporters apparently threw rocks and bottles at her during a demonstration in Rome.

By BosNewsLife Africa Service LONDON/ASMARA (BosNewsLife)-- Activists from Britain and Ireland were taking part in a protest outside the Eritrean embassy in London on Thursday, May 17, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of mass detentions of Eritrean Christians, organizers said.

By Eric Leijenaar, BosNewsLife Senior Special Correspondent ASMARA/AMSTERDAM (BosNewsLife)-- Eritrea has detained 15 monks in the capital Asmara for allegedly planning actions in and outside the African country against the "government's interference" in the Eritrean Orthodox Church, rights campaigners confirmed Tuesday, July 7.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife ASMARA, ERITREA (BosNewsLife)-- Four religious liberty groups urged the European Commission, the European Union's executive branch, Wednesday, April 1, "to ensure that aid money” allocated to Eritrea "reaches and benefits the people of that country," amid concerns it may only reach "one of the most repressive" governments of Africa.

By BosNewsLife Africa Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos ASMARA, ERITREA (BosNewsLife)-- There was uncertainty Tuesday March 5, about the situation of 125 Eritrean Christians who were "beaten and detained" in western Eritrea as part of a new government campaign against Christians worshiping outside the state-backed churches, rights investigators said.

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest WARSAW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Poland has granted asylum to 16 Christian refugees who accompanied Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski on a flight back from Tunisia.The Foreign Ministry said Friday, June 16, that the six adults and 10 children were "political refugees" from Eritrea and Nigeria, whose lives have been upturned by recent turmoil in North Africa.

Eric Leijenaar, BosNewsLife Senior Special Correspondent with BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos ASMARA, ERITREA (BosNewsLife)-- Three elderly Christian men have been released on bail from a military prison camp and police facility in Eritrea, Christian rights investigators confirmed Friday, March 20.