Dawit Isaac, Setit
Medium:Print
Charge:No Charge
Imprisoned:September 23, 2001

Dawit, co-founder of the newspaper Setit, was one of 10 prominent journalists imprisoned in the September 2001 government crackdown on the independent press. In April 2002, Dawit was reportedly hospitalized because of torture. According to his brother, Esayas Issak, he was once again released on November 19, 2005, for medical reasons, but was detained after two days.

Dawit, who has dual Eritrean and Swedish citizenship, has drawn considerable international attention, particularly in Sweden, where members of his family, including his brother, Esayas, live. He won numerous awards and prizes after his arrest, including the Golden Pen of Freedom Award of the World Association of Newspapers.

When asked about Dawit's crime in a May 2009 interview with Swedish freelance journalist Donald Boström, Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki said, "I don't know," before asserting that the journalist had made "a big mistake," without offering details. The president even dismissed the issue of Dawit's being tried, stating, "We will not have any trial and we will not free him." Isaias also claimed that since Dawit was Eritrean first, "the involvement of Sweden is irrelevant. ... The Swedish government has nothing to do with this."

In August 2010, Yemane Gebreab, a senior presidential adviser, said in an interview with Swedish daily Aftonbladet that Dawit was being held for "very serious crimes regarding Eritrea's national security and survival as an independent state."

In July 2011, three lawyers-Jesús Alcalá, Prisca Orsonneau, and Percy Bratt-filed a writ of habeas corpus with the High Court of Asmara and the Eritrean representative to the EU, calling on authorities to present Dawit in court. In September that year, which was the 10th anniversary of Dawit's imprisonment, the European Parliament adopted a resolution expressing "fears for the life" of Dawit, calling for his release, and urging the European Council to consider targeted sanctions against relevant top Eritrean officials.

In a January 2013 interview with a Swedish newspaper, former information minister and government spokesman Ali Abdu pleaded ignorance of Dawit's fate.

In September 2014, the European Union issued a statement calling for Dawit's immediate release and citing Eritrea's violation of international and domestic obligations regarding human rights.

Authorities in 2015 had not disclosed Dawit's health or whereabouts. Dawit is diabetic, according to local journalists and news reports.

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