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Added: Dec 26nd, 2008 7:47 AM ASMARA, ERITREA (BosNewsLife) -- Several churches in Eritrea were
without their leaders or other believers Sunday, December 21, as a
government-backed campaign of mass arrests reached the capital Asmara
amid fears several detainees died of mistreatment, Christians said.
Over 100 men, women and children from a variety of Christian
denominations were jailed in recent weeks, confirmed Christian
Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) a major rights group investigating the situation. The wave of house to house arrests reportedly began late November in the
areas of Keren, Eilabered, Hagaz, Adi Tekelezan, and Deki Zeru, followed
by further raids in Dekemhare, Adi Quala, Areza and Mendefera before the
campaign reached Asmara, December 12. Christians were reportedly transferred to a military facility and fellow
believers said they were severely mistreated. "Local sources indicate
that an unspecified number may have died after being denied medical
attention subsequent to this mistreatment," CSW noted. Eritrean
officials have denied religious persecution, but say they want to
protect the country against sects and dangerous outside influences. ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT The latest apparent crackdown comes amid reports of food shortages and
growing dissent within Eritrea's army as Major General Philipos
Woldeyohannes, a close ally of President Isaias Afewerki, reportedly
escaped an assassination attempt on December 4. "Elsewhere, a visit to Europe by a delegation headed by the Orthodox
Church's government-imposed administrator Yoftahe Dimetros and the
largely unrecognized substitute patriarch Bishop Dioscoros, is
reportedly proving less successful than anticipated," CSW added. In Italy, they apparently failed to gain an audience with the Catholic
hierarchy, allegedly on grounds that there had been "no prior
communications with Patriarch Antonios concerning the visit." The
delegation was later denied entry into Milan's Kidist Mariam Eritrean
Orthodox Church by church leaders, who said they did not represent the
official church, CSW said. "DEEPLY TROUBLING" CSW's Advocacy Director, Tina Lambert, said in a statement obtained by
BosNewsLife that the tensions and the "resumption of mass arrests" are
"deeply troubling." She said CSW is especially concerned about "reports
indicating that some detainees may even have died from injures"
sustained during mistreatment. "Our thoughts and prayers are with those
who may now be grieving for friends and family members," Lambert explained. Eritrean authorities began persecuting Christians in May 2002 after
controversial legislation only recognized the Eritrean Orthodox Church,
the Roman Catholic Church and Lutheran Church as "official
denominations", although church leaders there have also reported
tensions, rights groups said. At least 2,000 Eritrean Christians are held without charges in local
prisons of military camps, including in shipping containers, to pressure
them to abandon their faith in Christ, according to churches and
independent investigators. CSW said it has urged the international community "to remind the
Eritrean government of its international and constitutional obligations
with regard to freedom of religion and the humane treatment of
prisoners, and to urge the regime to permit all detainees to have
unhindered access to immediate family members, medical treatment, and
legal representation." (With reporting by BosNewsLife's Chief
International Correspondent Stefan J. Bos).
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