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Around this time last year, (fourth week of November and first week of December 2005) the Eritrean Government arrested dozens of civilians in several Eritrean towns including Asmara, Keren, Tessenei, Agordat and Barentu (reported by Asmarino, Farajat, Awate and other Eritrean websites). One year on, the whereabouts of these citizens are still unknown. Enquiries by families of some of the detainees were rebuffed by the governments security authorities and, in some cases, family members were threatened with dire consequences if they approached the authorities again.
Of those arrested, the names of 14 are known, namely:
Jimie Kimel: Journalist and former fighter in the Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front (EPLF). He worked in the EPLFs Department of Information and Guidance, and later, following Independence, in the Ministry of Information. He was a reporter at Eritrea al-Haditha Arabic newspaper and later became its sports editor. Arrested at his home in the Denden (Kagnew) Compound in Asmara.
Taha Mumammed-Nur: Veteran of the Eritrean liberation struggle. He was one of the founders of the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) in 1960 and foreign relations head of the Popular Liberation Front (PLF) in the 1970s. He served as ember of the Eritrean Referendum Commission in 1992-1993. At the time of his arrest in Asmara, he run a private business including a language-training center.
Idris Muhammed-Ali: Veteran patriotic singer. One of the founders of the music band of the PLF, forerunner to the EPLF, in 1974. Known for his many patriotic as well as love and social consciousness songs. In 1991, he founded? 'Love of the Homeland' musical band in Eritrea, of which many of the young members later became well-known artists, including the renowned composer, Mukhtar Saleh. He was arrested in Asmara.
Omar Keckia: Veteran fighter of the EPLF. Also was a member of the ELF. Since Eritrea 's Independence, he worked in the Ministry of Education (MoE). At the time of his arrest, in Keren, he was serving as a MoE supervision officer.
Mohammed-Jimie Arei: An officer in the Eritrean Police Department. At the time of his arrest, he was working as a forensic expert at the Police headquarters, known as AGIP. He had studied law at Khartoum University and received forensic studies training in the Netherlands.
Adem Shelshel: former EPLF fighter. Worked in the Eritrean Police Department in Asmara (Station No. 1, and at the HQ) and was later transferred to the Ministry of Information. Arrested in Asmara.
Mohammed Abdulhaleem: Writer, poet and businessman. Arrested in Barentu.
Abubaker Berq Ramadan: Civil servant in the administration of Keren town. Previously was an officer in the PFDJ (the ruling party) branch in Keren. Arrested in Keren.
Salah Greinet: Ticket officer in the Eritrean Airlines head office in Asmara. National service corps. Served in the Assab front between 1997 and 2003. Arrested in Asmara.
Mahmoud Mesmer: Civil servant, Keren.
Mohammed Nur: Hotel manager. Arrested in Agordat.
Hassan (second name unknown): Arrested in Barentu.
Abdalla Ramadan: Businessman, Keren.
Jeilani (second name unknown): Traffic police, Asmara.
Yassin M. Fereg: Arrested in Dec. 2005 whereabouts still unknown [added after publishing]
At the time the arrests took place, PFDJ operatives were spreading certain allegations that those arrested were, either caught in the act of economic corruption practices or were members of clandestine organization working against the Government. Based on my own personal knowledge of several of them, and testimonies I received from others who knew them, these are among the true Eritrean nationalists and peaceful aspirants for a democratic Eritrea. In any case, the only certain thing is that they are another batch of Eritreans who have been disappeared by Government security agents and that their whereabouts are not known even to their families. Whatever the accusations against them might be, for over a year now, they have been denied, like thousands before them, their day in court. Eritrea has one of the largest numbers of prisoners per capita. It is the leading jailer of journalists in Africa. Those who have disappeared into the governments known and secret prisons since 1991, include members of opposition political organizations kidnapped from Sudan and Ethiopia, members of the Jehovah Witnesses, senior members of Eritrean political organizations who had joined the Government after Independence, Muslims alleged of being members or sympathizers of the Eritrean Jihad movement, members of Eritrean minority churches, prominent members of Government and the National Assembly, Journalists, National Service conscripts, students, parents of Eritrean youngsters accused of leaving the country illegally, Eritreans deported from Malta and Libya, businesspeople, and thousands of other ordinary Eritreans the reason of whose incarceration in not known. Those whose detention places are known are reported to be incarcerated in extremely harsh conditions, including being locked up in metal cargo containers. Moreover, dozens are reported to have died in detention.
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