Reporters Without Borders has written to the European Union's 25 foreign ministers asking them to raise the issue of Eritrea's imprisoned journalists at a meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 12 December in Brussels, which will focus on Africa, and calling for the EU to do everything possible to obtain their release.
"A development last month served as a reminder of how merciless President
Issaias Afeworki's government can be towards those it views as its opponents,"
the letter said. "Dawit Isaac, a journalist with Swedish and Eritrean dual
nationality and founder of the now-banned weekly Setit, was released on
19 November after four years in prison. He was able to telephone his wife and
friends who have found refuge in Sweden, telling them he had just been freed
from Karcheli prison in Asmara and would soon be with them. But to everyone's
amazement, the authorities returned him to prison two days later, on
21 November, for still unclear reasons."
Isaac, who has had Swedish nationality since 1992, was arrested on
23 September 2001 in the course of the major police raids that followed the
suspension of all civil liberties five days earlier. Now aged 41, married and
the father of three children, he was one of ten newspaper publishers, editors
and leading journalists to be rounded up along with politicians who had
criticised the government.
"Isaac's story suggests Eritrea is plunging headlong into further
repression in which its people will be the only ones to suffer," the letter
continued. "The European Union has the ability to make the government in
Asmara understand that this course is unacceptable. For this reason, we urge
the European foreign ministers to do everything in their power to obtain
justice, at least, for these unfortunate journalists and help Eritrea emerge
from the darkness in which it is sinking further year by year."
Independent since 1993, Eritrea is Africa's youngest country. For the
past four years, it has also been the continent's biggest prison for the
press. At least 13 journalists are being held in undisclosed locations
somewhere in Eritrea without ever having appeared in court or been able to
talk to a lawyer or contact their families. The regime claims they are
traitors, Ethiopian spies or deserters. It is not known if they are still
alive.
Contact:
Emily Jacquard, Responsable de la section
canadienne, Reporters sans frontières, rsfcanada@rsf.org, (514) 521-4111,
Cell: (514) 258-4208, Fax: (514) 521-7771
