{"id":24049,"date":"2026-09-18T15:02:46","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T15:02:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/?p=24049"},"modified":"2026-09-18T15:10:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T15:10:35","slug":"eritrea-an-open-letter-to-president-isaias-afwerki","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2026\/09\/18\/eritrea-an-open-letter-to-president-isaias-afwerki.html","title":{"rendered":"Eritrea: An open letter to President Isaias Afwerki"},"content":{"rendered":"

18 September 2026: <\/strong>Acclaimed writers from around the world have signed an open letter to President Isaias Afwerki, in support of PEN\u2019s global Proof of Life campaign. Signatories include Nobel laureates Olga Tokarczuk<\/strong> and J.M. Coetzee<\/strong>; Burhan Sonmez<\/strong>, President of PEN International; Rohinton Mistry,<\/strong> recipient of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature; Ben Okri <\/strong>and Yann Martel,<\/strong> Booker Prize winners; Tsitsi Dangarembga<\/strong>, recipient of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade; Isabel Allende<\/strong>, recipient of the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters; Anthony Doerr,<\/strong> Pulitzer Prize winner; and Colm T\u00f3ib\u00edn<\/strong>, winner of the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, among others. The letter calls for verified proof of life for 12 Eritrean writers and journalists who have been held incommunicado since 2001 and calls for an end to 25 years of silence and enforced disappearance.<\/p>\n

Read the letter below, and <\/strong>click here<\/strong><\/a> to view it in Italian.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mr. President:<\/p>\n

18 September 2026 marks exactly 25 years since your government launched a brutal crackdown on critics of your administration. Within days, Eritrea\u2019s free press and the nation\u2019s independent voices were systematically crushed.<\/p>\n

The crackdown saw security forces arbitrarily arrest and detain journalists, writers, and poets who hoped to build a just, peaceful, and democratic Eritrea. We remember their names today:\u00a0 Amanuel Asrat<\/strong>; Dawit Habtemichael<\/strong>; Dawit Isaak<\/strong>; Fessehaye \u2018Joshua\u2019 Yohannes<\/strong>; Matheos Habteab<\/strong>; Medhanie Haile<\/strong>; Sahle \u2018Wedi-ltay\u2019 Tsegazeab<\/strong>; Said Abdelkadir<\/strong>; Said Idris \u2018Abu Are\u2019<\/strong>; Seyoum Tsehaye<\/strong>; Temesgen Ghebreyesus<\/strong>; and Yousif Mohammed Ali<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

For a quarter of a century, these individuals have been held incommunicado and denied access to legal representation, medical care, and their loved ones. They are among the world\u2019s longest-detained writers. Their only apparent crime was being independent voices and speaking of the Eritrea they dreamed of for the future. They should not have been detained in the first place.<\/p>\n

The families of these writers, the Eritrean people, and the global literary community have been met with a painful and unlawful silence. To withhold all information regarding their health, location, and survival is a violation of international law and an act of cruelty.<\/p>\n

We, the undersigned writers, journalists, poets, publishers, and human rights advocates from all corners of the world, write to you today with a single, urgent demand: provide immediate, verified proof of life for all arbitrarily detained Eritrean writers and critics.<\/p>\n

Mr. President, Eritrea\u2019s future must be built with its brightest minds, not based on their suppression. No writer or journalist should be disappeared for peacefully expressing their views.<\/p>\n

We remain in solidarity with our missing colleagues, and we will not cease our efforts until they are free.<\/p>\n

Signed by:\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n