Eritrea: Letter to President Isaias Afeworki
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned about the safety of 13 Eritrean journalists currently in the custody of your government.
Eritrea: jailed journalists, on hunger strike, moved to undisclosed location
Date: Thursday, April 11, 2002 6:37 PM
Committee to Protect Journalists
330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001 USA Phone: (212) 465-1004 Fax:
(212) 465-9568 Web: www.cpj.org E-Mail: [email protected]
April 11, 2002
His Excellency Isaias Afeworki
President of Eritrea
Office of the President
P. O. Box 257
Asmara, Eritrea
Via facsimile: 011-291-11-125123
Your Excellency:
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned about the
safety
of 13 Eritrean journalists currently in the custody of your government.
The journalists have not been charged with any crime since their September
2001
arrests. On March 31, 10 of the jailed journalists began a hunger strike to
protest their unfair imprisonment. In a message smuggled out of Asmara
Police
Station One, where they are being detained, the journalists said they would
refuse food until they were either released or charged and given a fair
trial.
Three days later, nine of the hunger strikers were transferred to an
undisclosed
detention facility. According to CPJ sources, a tenth journalist, Swedish
national Dawit Isaac, was sent to a hospital where he is being treated for
post-traumatic stress, a result of alleged torture while in police custody.
Most of the jailed journalists were arrested around September 18 after Your
Excellency's government imposed a blanket ban on all private and independent
publications in the country. Some Eritrean officials tried to justify this
drastic act of censorship by claiming that members of the private press
threatened Eritrea's state security and the "unity" of the Eritrean people.
Other officials claimed that the journalists refused to participate in a
compulsory national service program. Still others claimed that their
newspapers
did not have proper publication licenses.
In addition to Dawit Isaac, the detained journalists are:
· Yosef Mohamed Ali, the chief editor of Tsigenay
· Amanuel Asrat, the chief editor of Zemen
· Seyoum Tsehaye, a freelance editor and photographer and the former
director of
Eritrean state television
· Temesgen Gebreyesus, a reporter for Keste Debena
· Mattewos Habteab, editor of Meqaleh
· Dawit Habtemichael, assistant chief editor, Meqaleh
· Medhanie Haile, assistant chief editor, Keste Debena
· Fessahaye Yohannes, a reporter for Setit
· Said Abdulkadir, the chief editor of Admas.
Around February 15, Eritrean authorities arrested and jailed three state-run
media employees for reasons that remain unclear. They include:
· Hamid Mohammed Said (Eritrean state television, ETV)
· Saleh Aljezeeri (Eritrean state radio), and
· Saadia (full name unknown) a female journalist with the Arabic-language
service of ETV.
We remind Your Excellency that Eritrea currently jails more journalists than
any
country in Africa. As an organization of journalists dedicated to defending
our
colleagues and promoting press freedom around the world, CPJ believes that
journalists should never be imprisoned for fulfilling their professional
duties.
We therefore urge Your Excellency to ensure that all journalists currently
jailed for their work in Eritrea are immediately and unconditionally
released.
We also call on your government to disclose the whereabouts of our jailed
colleagues without further delay. We thank you for your attention to these
extremely urgent matters and await your reply.
Sincerely,
Ann Cooper
Executive Director
CC:
American Society of Newspaper Editors
Amnesty International
Article 19 (United Kingdom)
Artikel 19 (The Netherlands)
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Freedom Forum
Freedom House
Human Rights Watch
Index on Censorship
International Center for Journalists
International Federation of Journalists
International PEN
International Press Institute
Lorne W. Craner, United States Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human
Rights, and Labor
The Newspaper Guild
The North American Broadcasters Association
Overseas Press Club
Reporters Sans Frontières
Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Society of Professional Journalists
World Association of Newspapers
World Press Freedom Committee