Originally written on 03-08-2005.

News coming out of Eritrea indicates that a number of Christian Prisoners of conscience have been transported to the desert detention camp in Wea. Among those who were taken there are Essey Estifanos (a gospel singer) and his friends who were detained from a wedding they were guests at towards the end of May.

Since their incarceration the 70 prisoners, who were initially detained along side 250 others at a wedding party at Kiwa function hall in Asmara have been told that they would only be released if they confirm that they belong to one of the three government sanctioned Churches (the, Orthodox, Catholic or Lutheran Churches of Eritrea ).

Wea detention centre is situated in one of the hottest spots in the world and was originally used by Italian Colonisers as a place of harsh punishment. The current government of Eritrea is known to use Wea routinely to punish young people who exhibited any form of rebellion. In the summer of 2001 around 2,000 university students were detained there for over a month two students died as a result of sunstroke, others still talk of the horrors that they encountered there.

Highlighting his concerns Dr Berhane Asmelash –director of Release-Eritrea said: ‘I am dismayed that in this day and age a government of an independent nation sees it fit to punish its citizens under such conditions for any transgression, the fact that the only crime of these young people is confessing their faith in Jesus Christ makes their predicament totally inexplicable. I am concerned for their safety and wellbeing of course, however I am also concerned about the trend of escalation of severe persecution’

Eritrea was designated a country of serious concern, for religious persecution, by the US state department last year since then both the number of detained Christians and the severity of punishment they are receiving seems to be escalating. Release Eritrea calls on the international community to use its influence to persuade the government of Eritrea to stop the persecution of thousands of its innocent citizens from minority Christian denominations.