Amnesty International Report 2003 - Eritrea

Covering events from January - December 2002

ERITREA
Head of state and government: Issayas Afewerki
Death penalty: retentionist
International Criminal Court: signed

Dozens of prisoners of conscience arrested in September and October 2001 remained in secret detention at the end of 2002 without charge or trial. They included former members of the government who were calling for democratic reforms, and journalists. During 2002 there were many further arrests of government critics and people refusing compulsory military service. Torture and sexual abuse of army protesters were reported. Most Ethiopian prisoners of war were released. Hundreds of political detainees detained in previous years remained held in secret without charge or trial.

Background

In April, following a peace treaty signed in December 2000 ending a two-year border war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission at The Hague in the Netherlands delivered its ruling on the border issue. Both sides had agreed in advance to accept the ruling but disagreements remained at the end of the year, delaying border demarcation.

The mandate of the UN Military Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), administering a buffer zone between the two countries and demining the area, was extended by the UN Security Council into 2003. Exchanges of prisoners of war and civilian internees continued through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) but were not completed by either side. In August, Eritrea returned what it said was the remaining group of 485 Ethiopian prisoners of war, but there were fears for the safety of some others unaccounted for, including Colonel Bezabih Petros, an Ethiopian pilot shot down in 1998 and detained in secret.

The Eritrean government supported Ethiopian and Sudanese armed opposition groups, leading to heightened tension in October when the Sudanese armed opposition briefly captured parts of eastern Sudan adjacent to the Eritrean border. The armed opposition group, the Alliance of Eritrean National Forces (AENF), was based in Ethiopia, although there were no confirmed reports of AENF armed activities in Eritrea.

Refugees

During 2002, hundreds of Eritreans fled abroad fearing political imprisonment or forcible conscription. In May 2002 the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) declared Cessation of Refugee Status for Eritreans from the end of 2002, applying to those who had fled during the 30-year armed struggle for independence from Ethiopia, achieved in 1991, and for those who had fled during the 1998-2000 border war with Ethiopia. Over 100,000 Eritreans who had lived in Sudan for up to 25 years were offered voluntary repatriation, which many refused, or an alternative option of alien resident status in Sudan. Voluntary repatriation was suspended by the UNHCR in October 2002 for security reasons. The cessation of refugee status was widely misunderstood to mean that Eritrea was safe for all refugee returns, which was not the case. Many of the long-term refugees in Sudan feared persecution on return on account of their links with the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), a rival to the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) which formed the independence government in 1991, or because of conscientious objection to military service. Army deserters during and after the Ethiopian war feared persecution on return. Over 10,000 refugees applied for exemption from the cessation.

Over 200 Eritreans who had originally entered Sudan were deported back to Eritrea from Malta in September 2002 and detained on arrival. They were held incommunicado and without charge or further explanation. There were fears for their safety since many had allegedly deserted from the army.

Prisoners of conscience

In February the government accused 11 former government and ruling party leaders, arrested in September 2001, of treason during the war with Ethiopia. There were fears for their safety as the authorities refused to disclose their whereabouts or conditions of detention, or allow family access. They could be subject to the death penalty, but they had not been taken to court or charged by the end of the year.

Among the detainees were Mahmoud Ahmed Sheriffo, former Vice-President; Haile Woldetensae, former Foreign Minister; and Petros Solomon, also a former Foreign Minister. They were prisoners of conscience, detained for leading the post-war calls for democratization and human rights reforms.

Scores of supporters of these reforms who had been arrested in late 2001 remained in secret incommunicado detention without charge or trial throughout 2002. They included Idris Aba'ere, a severely disabled liberation war veteran, writer and Ministry of Labour department head; Miriam Hagos, director of cinemas; and Tesfaye Gebreab, a director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Others arrested in early 2002 and still detained incommunicado without charge or trial at the end of the year included Ali Muhammad Saleh, a former diplomat working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who was arrested in May; and Ibrahim Siraj, a former director of a maternity clinic. They were also prisoners of conscience.

Journalists

Ten journalists detained soon after the government banned the entire private press in September 2001 remained in detention without charge or trial throughout 2002. They included Seyoum Tsehaye, former director of the state television service; Fessaye Yohannes, a reporter and playwright; and Dawit Habtemichael, an assistant editor and science teacher. The government said that the 10 had violated the 1996 Press Law but did not specify details. In March, the 10 prisoners of conscience went on hunger strike in protest at their unlawful detention. After three days, security police removed them from a police station in Asmara and took them to an undisclosed location. At the end of the year, the authorities had not disclosed their whereabouts or conditions of detention.

At least four journalists arrested in early 2002 were held without charge or trial at the end of the year, including Saadia Ahmed, and Semret Seyoum, who was caught fleeing the country in January. Dozens of other journalists fled abroad.

Conscripts

National military and development service, indefinitely extended since 1994, is compulsory for 18 months for men and women aged between 18 and 40, with additional compulsory reserve duties afterwards for all conscripts and demobilized former EPLF fighters. Eritrea does not recognize the right to conscientious objection, although there are exemptions for mothers and certain categories of workers. The penalty for evading conscription or protesting against military service is three years' imprisonment, but in practice those caught are tortured and arbitrarily detained for several months with hard labour, before being forced back into the army. Methods of torture reported included being left for many hours in the hot sun, bound hand and foot, in some cases resulting in permanent injury. Some female conscripts were allegedly subjected to sexual abuse. In December the government announced the demobilization of women conscripts.

Religious persecution

Four Jehovah's Witnesses who maintained their refusal of conscription on religious grounds remained in secret detention without charge or trial since 1994. Jehovah's Witnesses continued to be deprived of basic civil and political rights.

During 2002 the authorities closed down several evangelical and pentecostal Christian churches, including the Mullu Wengel Church, which had been established for several decades in Eritrea. This was done without any public announcement or legal basis.

Long-term political prisoners

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of government opponents were alleged to be still secretly detained. Some had been members of the former Ethiopian administration and surrendered in 1991, or had been abducted from Addis Ababa and handed over to the new Eritrean government. Others were captured ELF opposition fighters or suspected supporters, or government critics, including some long-serving EPLF commanders or members. Some appeared to be prisoners of conscience.

New information emerged about some of these political detainees and others feared to have "disappeared". Some were reportedly detained secretly within the official Sembel Prison in Asmara, in secret security or military prisons in Asmara, or in remote rural detention camps.

The Special Court

Hundreds of prisoners were serving long prison terms imposed after unfair trials by the Special Court or were detained pending trial by this exceptional court. Some cases were believed to have political elements. The Special Court, set up in 1996 to try corruption offences, denies the right to legal representation or appeal and has military judges with little or no legal training.

AI country visits

Visas refused
In July AI delegates were refused visas to visit Eritrea.