COUNTRY PROFILE ERITREA
Eritrea’s authoritarian regime is the worst governmental violator of freedom of expression and religion in Africa, 73 emphasizing “martyrdom for the nation” over spiritual values. 74 Religious communities are required to register with the authorities in order to be permitted to practice their faith. However, the government only recognizes four religions: Eritrean Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, and Islam. 75 The registration process for non-recognized faiths is very complex and leaves unregistered groups vulnerable to harassment. 76 Members of unauthorized religious groups are routinely imprisoned and told that they will not be released until they renounce their beliefs. Those following officially recognized religions also often face restrictions and backlash – such as forced military conscription 77 – for publicly practicing their faith. 78 Catholic priests, bishops, Orthodox monks, and other Christian leaders have also been detained. 79 The scale of arrests rose during the period under review: 218 Christians were seized between mid-2023 and mid-2024. 80 In January 2023, 44 Christians were detained (see right), 81 and three months later, 103 students were arrested in one police raid on a school in the capital Asmara (see April 2023). The same month, 44 monks from the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, supporters of the late Patriarch Abune Antonios, who was deposed by the government, were arbitrarily detained: 82 They were later released. Some 400 Christians are imprisoned – without trial – because of religious activities. 83 Christians and others arrested for engaging in religious activities are held captive in inhumane conditions at high-security prisons, such as Mai Serwa near Asmara, which is notorious for its human rights violations. 84 Detainees are forced to live in squalor and face violence and intimidation throughout the country’s prisons. 85 Inmates are often held for long periods without an official charge. 86
SELECTED INCIDENTS SEPTEMBER 2022 The Eritrean government seized control of the Catholic-owned Don Bosco Technical School in Dekemhare and confiscated all its property without compensation, having done the same with Hagaz Agro-Technical School – a Catholic institution run by the De La Salle Brothers – in August. 87 SEPTEMBER 2022 On Sunday the 4 th , soldiers surrounded Medhanie Alem Eritrean Catholic Church in the Eparchy of Segheneyti during worship. They proceeded to round up boys and girls aged 16, taking them by force to be conscripted for compulsory military service for an indefinite period. 88 JANUARY 2023 Authorities imprisoned 44 Christians – 39 women and five men – at Mai Serwa for holding religious services in their homes. 89 MARCH 2023 Eritrean police arrested 30 Christians who had gathered to worship in a private home in the town of Keren. 90 APRIL 2023 Police detained 103 young Christians, most of them students, who had gathered to worship and record video clips featuring Christian music for social media in Asmara. The members of the group belonged to unregistered denominations. They were imprisoned at Mai Serwa. 91 JANUARY 2024 Thirty Christian adults and an unknown number of children were arrested while celebrating an infant’s first birthday in Asmara. 92
18 Persecuted and Forgotten?
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