19th September, 2013
Targeted sanctions shoud be imposed on key Eritrean officials to pressure them to release prominent politicians and journalists who have been detained "incommunicado" for the past 12 years, according to rights groups Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Human Rights Concern Eritrea.
In a joint statement released on 18th September – 12 years since the Eritrean Government closed all independent media outlets and detained several journalists as well as 11 prominent ruling party members – the organisations said it was time for the international community to consider imposing sanctions on President Isaias Afewerki and his allies to pressure for the release of those detained.
They said "credible reports" indicated the detainees were being held in life-threatening conditions in "indefinite solitary confinement" in Era Ero prison. The detainees have not been allowed to see other prisoners, have no access to family or legal representatives and are referred to by a number. The organisations say at least 15 prisoners have reportedly died as a result of the harsh conditions and another nine are suffering "severe health challenges".
In 2003, the African Commission found the cases of 11 of the detained politicians to be in violation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and urged their immediate release while in 2007 the Commission called for the detained journalists to be either released or brought to a "speedy and fair trial".
Elsa Chyrum, director of Human Rights Concern Eritrea, describes the treatment as "barbaric and inhumane" and amounts to a "crime against humanity".
"Given the severity of the situation and Eritrea’s continued flouting of the African Commission rulings, it is time for the international community to seriously consider imposing targeted sanctions on the President and his close political allies as pressure for the release of these detainees."
Khataza Gondwe, the Africa and Middle East team leader for CSW, says the treatment is an "affront to human dignity" and represented a violation of the country’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter.
– DAVID ADAMS
