In yet another major crackdown on religious freedom, Eritrean security agents have rounded up hundreds of Christian and Muslim believers.

On Friday, 3 September 2004, dozens of teachers in Islamic schools (“Ma’ahad”) were arrested in Asmara. Some 25 of them, both men and women, are detained in the Crime Investigations (wenjel mermera) section located behind the First Police Station (Karsheli or Carcere.)

A few days later, on 7, 6 and 9 September, a far more sweeping campaign in the capital resulted in the arrest of several hundred followers of various evangelical and Pentecostal churches who are also incarcerated in wenjel mermera.  Although the exact number of the detained is not known, a prison source cited the figure of over 700.

Since the campaign targeted whole families, the detained Christians include adults (both men and women) as well as children.  The arrests followed extensive campaigning by PFDJ loyalists who were instructed to report on families in their neighborhoods who were suspected either of being followers of the minority churches or employees of Islamic schools.  

Gedab News has not been able to confirm whether the campaign is limited to Asmara or includes other parts of the country.    

BACKGROUND

The minority churches in Eritrea, which are collectively referred to as “Pente,” include the Pentecostal Church, Jehovah’s Witnesses and other small sects.  The government had targeted the Jehovah’s Witnesses as early as 1993 when they, citing their religious belief, refused to participate in the national referendum and the military “national service.”  The government officially stripped them of their citizenship in 1994.     In May 2002, the government issued a directive instructing all “minority churches” to close their institutions and apply to register by providing a list of their entire membership and their funding sources.   More than two years later, their registration application is still pending and they can only practice their faith in secret, risking arrest. 

The campaign against Islamic schoolteachers was initiated in 1994 when the government abducted twenty instructors.  Despite repeated pleas from family members, the government has yet to report on their whereabouts and there have been at least two independent reports alleging that they, and many others, were executed in June 18, 1997.