{"id":9466,"date":"2021-11-18T14:17:09","date_gmt":"2021-11-18T14:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/?p=9466"},"modified":"2021-11-18T14:17:09","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T14:17:09","slug":"susvetny-dzen-pismennika-u-znyavolenni-kalektyunaya-sprava-12-erytrejskih-pismennikau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2021\/11\/18\/susvetny-dzen-pismennika-u-znyavolenni-kalektyunaya-sprava-12-erytrejskih-pismennikau.html","title":{"rendered":"DOIW 2021 \u2013 Take Action for Detained Eritrean Writers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Names<\/strong><\/td>\n\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Occupation<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dawit Isaak\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Writer, journalist, and playwright\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Amanuel Asrat<\/td>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Journalist, poet, art critic, and song writer\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Said Idris \u2018Abu Are\u2019<\/td>\n\u00a0 \u00a0 Writer, journalist, and translator<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Temesegen Ghebreyesuy<\/td>\n\u00a0 \u00a0 Journalist, comedian, actor<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Methanie Haile\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n\u00a0 \u00a0Journalist and lawyer\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fessehaye \u2018Joshua\u2019 Yohannes<\/td>\n\u00a0 \u00a0Writer, journalist, and playwright<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Yousif Mohammed Ali<\/td>\n\u00a0 \u00a0Journalist\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Seyoum Tsehaye<\/td>\n\u00a0 \u00a0Journalist\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dawit Habtemichael\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n\u00a0 \u00a0Journalist\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Said Abdelkadir\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n\u00a0 \u00a0Journalist\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sahle \u2018Wedi-ltay\u2019 Tsefezab<\/td>\n\u00a0 \u00a0Journalist<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Matheos Habteab<\/td>\n\u00a0 \u00a0Journalist<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Background<\/strong><\/p>\n

Twenty years ago, in September 2001, the Eritrean authorities launched a massive crackdown on regime critics. As part of the crackdown, on 18 and 19 September, the security forces arrested and detained 11 out of 15 dissenting members (commonly known as the G-15) of the ruling People\u2019s Front for Democracy and Justice (PDFJ), on charges of committing crimes against national security and sovereignty. The G-15 had earlier published an open letter in which they denounced the President\u2019s abuse of power and presented his actions as \u2018illegal and unconstitutional\u2019.<\/p>\n

On 18 September, the authorities also shut down all independent newspapers in the country, including the weeklies Meqaleh, Setit, Tsigenay, Zemen, Wintana and Admas which were closed down for publishing the G-15\u2019s open letter and conducting media interviews on the issues raised in the letter. On 21 September twelve journalists, all associated with the banned independent media outlets, were rounded up by security forces and detained. Some of these journalists are also writers, poets, translators, playwrights, songwriters and art critics. The Eritrean authorities have held them and the G-15 members in incommunicado detention without access to family members, lawyers or independent doctors, and without trial, for two decades.<\/p>\n

Over the years, there have been unverified reports that several of the detainees died in custody due to ill-treatment and neglect. The Eritrean authorities have ignored calls by human rights organizations and regional and international human rights mechanisms for justice for the detainees, with official denials of the clampdown in 2002. The authorities also claimed that the writers and journalists had merely been sent to carry out their national service, and that all those arrested in 2001 are alive without providing proofs to substantiate these claims.<\/p>\n

Eritrea is a militarized authoritarian, single party state that has been consistently ranked as one of the worst countries for freedom of expression in the world, with independent media banned since 2001.\u00a0 Virtually all critical voices (journalists, writers, poets, playwrights, musicians, artists, dissenting politicians) are arbitrarily detained for indefinite periods, disappeared, forced to flee into exile or subjected to extrajudicial killings. Its democratic constitution, which guarantees the freedoms of speech and the press, was ratified in 1997 but not instituted. Eritrea has not held national elections since independence from Ethiopia in 1993 and the Transition National Assembly, which was established to act as the legislative body until national elections are held, has not met since 2002.<\/p>\n

Take Action<\/strong><\/p>\n

PEN International considers the continued arbitrary and incommunicado detention of Eritrean journalists, writers, poets and government critics a violation of their human rights, including their right to freedom of expression, personal liberty, and life. The Eritrean authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Dawit Isaak; Amanuel Asrat; Said Idris \u2018Abu Are\u2019; Temesken Ghebreyesus; Methanie Haile; Fessehaye \u2018Joshua\u2019 Yohannes; Yousif Mohammed Ali; Seyoum Tsehaye; Dawit Habtemichael; Said Abdelkadir; Sahle \u2018Wedi-ltay\u2019 Tsefezab; and Matheos Habteab.<\/p>\n

This is what you can do:<\/p>\n

Advocacy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Write a letter or e-mail to the Eritrean authorities<\/strong><\/p>\n