An Eritrean opposition organization recently reported that Mr. Petros Solomon was recently released from jail.

Awate.com cannot confirm this news conclusively but according to a usually reliable source, Petros Solomon was released from the super secret prison in Eira Eiro because he is suffering from serious liver complications and the government did not want him to die in jail.  He is believed to be under "house arrest"--which may also mean that he is serving prison term in a different hospital outside Eira Eiro.

Several credible sources, including Reporters Without Borders, have reported that at least 9 prisoners who were held at Eira Eiro have died.  These include General Oqbe Abraha, Chief of Staff, Eritrean Defense Forces; Mr Mohammed Sherifo, Minister of Local Government; Mr. Saleh Kekya, Minister of Transportation; Ms. Aster Fessehaye, Chief NUEW Anseba Zone; Mr Yusuf Mohammed Ali, editor of the banned Tsigenay; Mr. Medhane Haile, deputy editor of the banned Keste Debena; Mr. Said Abdulkader, editor of Admas; and Mr. Joshua Yohannes, co-founder of Setit.  Most recently, Mr. Taha Mohammed Nur, one of the founders of the Eritrean revolution, died in jail (albeit not in Eira Eiro) and his family was given his body without explanations.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ghile Abraha, a senior immigration official, was detained last week on charges of corruption.   Addressing the public, government officials had repeatedly indicated that in response to outcries from the people, they would clamp down on corruption cases but, when they do, they do not want to hear complaints that those who are arrested are never charged or brought to a court of law.

In keeping with the Eritrean government’s practice, Ghile Abraha is being tried in the court of rumor mill, where he has no chance of defending himself.

Sealed Shops

Almost all the jewelry shops in Asmara have been sealed by the Ministry of Finance and are now being guarded by armed soldiers. 

The government gave no reason for this measure and people are speculating that this is due to the fact that the jewelry shops are now functioning as pawnshops for destitute people who have exhausted all their resources.

The government has also sealed all privately-owned grain stores in Asmara, Mendefera and Keren in its bid to provide food for the military and provide raw material for the flourmills of Dekemhare and the Melotti Brewery.   The brewery, which was once so profitable that its general manager was touring the Diaspora in an attempt to sell a third of its shares to Eritrean citizens with a promise that its dividends would be used to fund the martyr’s family trust fund, is practically closed now because it doesn’t have the foreign currency necessary to import raw materials.  

Voice of the Opposition

The Eritrean regime is trying to jam the satellite TV broadcast of the Eritrean opposition, which has been broadcast from Addis Abeba since last week.

Despite the weakness of the broadcast, the Eritrean regime sees the broadcast as a major threat that could undermine its monopoly of information.

Meanwhile, the talk of the town is the recent information confirmed by a former employee at the Ministry of Information that almost all of the “news” about Ethiopia and Ethiopian opposition is entirely fabricated by Eritrea’s Ministry of Information.