Eritrean officials refuse letter calling for release of imprisoned Christian leaders

Advocates gathered Thursday at the Embassy of the State of Eritrea in Washington, D.C., to protest the detention of seven Christian leaders in the African country. The men have been held for more than 20 years at the Wengel Mermera Criminal Investigation Center, though they have not been formally charged with a crime, according to Christian Freedom International. Demonstrations and prayer campaigns calling for their release took place in more than a dozen countries and Eritrean embassies in three countries, including the United States, refused to accept letters urging leaders to free the men. A dozen organizations and more than 70 individuals signed the letter advocates attempted to deliver to the embassy in Washington. The letter alleged the treatment of the Christian leaders is contrary to the Eritrean Constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Who are the men? Officials arrested six of the men in 2004, including Chairman of the Eritrean Evangelical Alliance Dr. Kuflu Gebremeskel. Reverend Haile Naizge was the chairman of the board for the Full Gospel Church of Eritrea, one of the country’s largest Pentecostal churches, and Kidane Weldou served as senior pastor for Southwest Full Gospel Church. Reverend Meron Gebreselassie was an anesthetist at a local hospital and the pastor of Massawa Rhema Evangelical Church, while Reverend Dr. Teklab Menghisteab was a physician and leader of the Medhane Alem Church. Reverend Gebremedhin Gebregiorgis served as an Eritrean Orthodox priest and Dr. Fitsum-Berhan Gebrenegus, a physician and the only psychiatrist in the country, also served as a priest in the Orthodox Church. Both men were involved in a renewal movement within the church, and both men were widowed while in prison.

Why are they imprisoned? Eritrea’s autocratic government only recognizes Catholic, Orthodox, and Lutheran congregations as approved Christian denominations, according to the nonprofit OpenDoors. Any individuals who practice their faith outside those groups face persecution and even those who worship as part of one of the three state-approved denominations can experience hostility. Eritrea is sixth on OpenDoors’ World Watch List of countries where Christians face extreme persecution. While Eritrean officials have not given precise reasons for detaining most of the seven church leaders, OpenDoors says the government views Christian churches as hindering the national identity it is trying to build. The Christian watchdog organization estimates authorities arrested more than 120 Christians in the first half of 2024 without any charges.

Since 2004, Eritrea has been designated a Country of Particular Concern by the United States’ International Religious Freedom Act. The country in 2006 placed Eritrean Orthodox Church Patriarch Abune Antonios under house arrest for refusing to stop a revival movement within the denomination. Antonios later died while still in detention.

Dig deeper: Read A.S. Ibrahim’s opinion piece about why the United States should not turn a blind eye to Muslim persecution of Christians.