The detained journalists are held without charges and forced to endure terrible conditions such as extended periods in the sun and denial of medication.
(IFJ/NUSOJ/IFEX) – 31 May 2011 – Free expression advocates from around the world gathered this week in Beirut, Lebanon, at the 16th IFEX General Meeting. Thirty-three IFEX members signed on to the following letter to the President of Eritrea:
His Excellency Issayas Afewerki
President of Eritrea
Office of the President
Asmara, Eritrea
We, the undersigned members of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) attending the 16th General Meeting and Strategy Conference, condemn the continued detention of journalists and dissidents in Eritrea under inhumane and appalling conditions.
Around 30 journalists are currently detained; some are held in metal containers or underground cells in Adi Abeito military prison, in Eiraeiro prison, in the Dahlak archipelago and in several other detention centres around the country.
The detained journalists are held without charges and forced to endure terrible conditions such as extended periods in the sun and denial of medication. Their families have been denied information about the journalists and they are not allowed phone calls or visits from family members and colleagues.
The Eritrean government has refused to disclose any information and in the absence of precise statistics, it has always been difficult to know how many are in jail and how many have died. But it is clear that Eritrea is one of the worst jailers of journalists in the world, on par with China and Iran.
One of the imprisoned journalists is Dawit Isaak, who in October 2010 received the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers’ (WAN-IFRA) 2011 Golden Pen of Freedom, WAN-IFRA’s annual award that recognises individuals or organisations that have made an outstanding contribution to the defense and promotion of press freedom. He was incarcerated on 23 September 2001.
Without international attention, Eritrea will continue to use cruel detention to suppress journalists, independent media and freedom of expression.
We therefore call on the Eritrean government to:
* Reveal the whereabouts of the journalists as well as the circumstances of journalists who died in prison;
* Immediately free all detained journalists;
* Restore media freedom and allow the independent media to operate and report from Eritrea.
