The Persecution Times » Eritrea
Eritrean Government Continues to Arrest Christians
A campaign of mass arrests initiated in late November has now reached the Eritrean capital city of Asmara, occasioning the detention of over 100 men, women and children from a variety of Christian denominations. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Christian, Eritrea, Persecution
Eritrean Officials Imprison 20 Members Of Underground Church
By Dan Wooding Founder of ASSIST Ministries WASHINGTON, DC ANS – The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) says that it has learned that Eritrean officials imprisoned about 20 Christians belonging to the underground Faith Missions Church on Sunday, October 12, 2008, in Deki-Zeru, a town 30km away from Asmara, the capital. “The Christians were holding a Sunday morning worship service when Eritrean security forces raided the church,” said an ICC spokesperson. “The Christians, including some elderly, are still in prison. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Assist News Service, Christian, Eritrea, Persecution
Eritrean Christian Students Shut Into Shipping Containers
Compass Direct News reports that Authorities on Tuesday (August 5) locked up eight high school students at a military training school in metal shipping containers for objecting to the burning of hundreds of Bibles, sources told Compass. The eight male students from the Sawa Defense Training Centre in Sawa, near Eritrea’s border with Sudan, were incarcerated after military authorities confiscated more than 1,500 personal Bibles from new students arriving for the 2008-2009 academic year. The eight students objected when military officials began burning the Bibles. “During the time that the Bibles were set on fire, the chief commander of Sawa, Col. Debesai Ghide, gave a warning to all the students by telling them that Sawa is a place of patriotism, not a place for ‘Pentes’ [Pentecostals],’” said one source. “Eight male students to whom … Read entire article »
Filed under: Christian, Compass Direct, Eritrea, Persecution
Christian Woman Dies of Malaria in Eritrean Prison
Compass Direct News reports: LOS ANGELES, July 23 (Compass Direct News) – Imprisoned and tortured for her Christian faith since December, 37-year-old Azib Simon died of malaria in Eritrea’s Wi’a Military Training Center last week. Weakened by ongoing torture, sources said, Simon contracted malaria only a week before she died. Christians in the prison are rarely given medical attention, and the sources said authorities refused to provide treatment for Simon’s malaria. Simon was the sister of former Eritrean television journalist Biniam Simon, who recently fled the country after abandoning his career at government controlled ERI-TV. Azib Simon had attended the Kale-Hiwet Church in Assab, one of the independent evangelical churches that have been targeted by the country’s Marxist-leaning authoritarian regime. She was held at the notorious Wi’a Military Training Center, 20 miles south of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Christian, Eritrea, Persecution
Eritrean Authorities Jail 34 Christians in House Church Raid
Compass Direct News reports Eritrean security police cracked down on more Christians again last week, arresting 34 evangelicals gathered for prayer and fellowship in a local home in Keren. The police raid on Wednesday May 28 targeted members of the Berhane Hiwet Light of Life Church in Keren, Eritrea’s third largest city 200 kilometers 124 miles northwest of the capital Asmara. All 24 men and 10 women present were taken to prison, with their children left behind. The next day security officials transferred the 10 women prisoners, all of them married, to the Adi-Abyto Military Confinement facility. The Keren raid was the second round of arrests last week in Eritrea, where the oppressive regime has outlawed all independent Protestant churches since 2002, closing their buildings and banning gatherings in private homes. For the full story … Read entire article »
Filed under: Christian, Compass Direct, Eritrea, Persecution
