ERITREA: LONG-TIME CHRISTIAN PRISONERS AMONG 98 RELEASED IN DECEMBER
Voice of the Martyrs Korea is reporting that Christians, including some who had been held for longer than ten years, are among the 98 prisoners who were released from military facilities in the country of Eritrea in November and December.
The releases, which were confirmed by a local Christian contact and by family members of the freed prisoners, took place in groups throughout the months of November and December, according to Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley.
“On December 11, a group of 36 prisoners were released, including 20 women,” says Representative Foley. “The majority in this group were members of Christian churches banned in Eritrea.”
Representative Foley says that in May 2002, Eritrean authorities ordered the closure of all non-Orthodox, Catholic, and Lutheran churches.
“Since then, Christians from banned churches have been arrested and imprisoned with open-ended sentences, without being formally charged or tried. Most of the leaders of the evangelical churches have spent more than two decades in ‘shipping container prisons’ and are still there to this day. That’s why Eritrea is rightfully called the ‘North Korea of Africa’ and is continually ranked as one of the worst persecutors of Christians in the world.”
Voice of the Martyrs Korea is one of several persecution watchdog organizations around the world which have for years conducted letter writing campaigns on behalf of Eritrean Christian prisoners. She says that while none of the prominent Christian leaders were included in this latest round of prisoner releases, her ministry’s local contact confirmed that some of the Christians who were released had been held for more than 10 years.
Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley prays with an Eritrean widow. Her husband died while he was imprisoned for his faith in Eritrea.
Representative Foley says that Christian prisoners are not permitted to have any contact with their families.
“Their families are not allowed to visit them or to bring food to them,” says Representative Foley. “If a prisoner becomes sick, they are not given any medical care, and their families are not notified.”
(From file) Shipping containers in a desert in Eritrea. Christian leaders have been imprisoned in such containers for more than two decades.
Representative Foley says that no reason for the releases has been given by the Eritrean government, but that poor health of prisoners has often been the motivation for past releases.
Representative Foley’s Voice of the Martyrs Korea organization partners with its Voice of the Martyrs sister missions to provide support to the families of Christian prisoners. She says that while the release of prisoners is always good news, it creates a new set of challenges for local Christians.
“Helping prisoners recover from years of serious illness is a major long-term need when they are released,” says Representative Foley. She says family members can be reluctant to care for released prisoners. “A few years ago there was an Eritrean Christian who had been detained for 11 years, who was disowned by family members when he was released from prison and tried to return home. That’s because many families and landlords refuse to provide housing or help to ex-prisoners because they worry that the government will punish them.”
Christians around the world to write Christians in prison for their faith in Eritrea. She says that currently five Eritrean Christians are in prisons where letters can reach them. The names and addresses of these prisoners, as well as what to write and how to send the letters, can be found at https://vomkorea.com/en/prisoner-profiles/