Eritrea
Eight years later, media suppression remainsPosted Oct 12 2009
This month marks eight years since the end of free media in Eritrea, and the wave of arrests that quickly followed. Twelve journalists were imprisoned during the suppression, and at least 20 more, including two state media workers, have been arrested since and detained without trial.
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S., the Eritrean government launched massive restraints on media opposing President Isaias Afwerki. They passed anti-terrorism legislation to justify the arrests and the closing of all privately owned press outlets.
Four of those imprisoned, Said Abdulkader, Medhanie Haile, Yusuf Mohamed Ali and Fessehaye “Joshua” Yohannes, have died behind bars.
“The conditions are harsh and there is not any news about them,” Khaled Abdu, former editor of the Admas newspaper and founder of the Sweden-based Association of Eritrean Journalists in Exile, told the International Press Institute. “If this regime will stay in power for longer time I would imagine that no one of our colleagues will be able to tolerate the harsh conditions and there will be minimal hope to see them alive.”
One of the incarcerated journalists, Dawit Isaac, has dual Eritrean and Swedish nationality. The European Parliament asked for his release in January of this year, but Eritrean authorities have failed to comply. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), President Afwerki stated in May that Isaac would not be tried and that his release would not be negotiated. Eritrea is now tied with China and Iran in terms of journalists behind bars, according to RSF. It remains the only African country with no privately owned media, the BBC reports.
More information
- Reporters Without Borders
- International Press Institute