Mass Arrests of Christians in Eritrea as Patriarch Marks 10 Years in Detention

Patrick Poole | 9:21 AM on July 08, 2017
Participants at the Eritrea vigil in London on May 17, 2017 protesting against the Eritrean government's religious policies and denouncing 10 years of brutal clampdowns on Christians. (Shutterstock)

Since 2003, Christians in the small East African country of Eritrea have been under siege, with thousands languishing in prisons for their faith. This despite the country being nearly evenly split between Christians and Muslims.

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A new crackdown on Christians has seen mass arrests in recent weeks, as the Eritrean Christian Patriarch Antonios marks ten years in detention.

International Christian Concern reports:

Eritrea has now arrested 200 Christians in house-to-house raids, in a tough new crackdown which is tearing children from their parents. Young children and a baby are among those arrested. It’s feared they could spend their childhood in a prison cell. Release International is calling on Eritrea to free the Christians and has launched a campaign calling for concerted prayer for Eritrea’s prisoners of faith.

Security forces in Eritrea have been going house-to-house arresting Christians. They have rounded up 177 adults, along with some 20 small children. The arrests are continuing and many Christians have gone into hiding.

Release International partner Dr Berhane Asmelash says rounding up Christians door-to-door is a new tactic that signals a worsening of the crackdown. He believes the single-party state is taking a tough new line against the church.

“People used to be arrested for conducting unauthorised meetings, such as Bible studies or prayers. But this is new for us when they go from house to house. They are arresting people for their beliefs, not for their actions. This is getting worse. Many Christians are in hiding.”

“Security forces in different towns went from house to house asking people their religion. If they were outside the [state sanctioned] Lutheran, Catholic, Muslim and Orthodox faiths, they arrested them.”

“Twelve children were arrested with their parents, and some parents were forced to leave their underage children unattended.”

Children who are too young to be separated from their mothers face being brought up in jail unless their parents are released. They include a two-month old baby.

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It’s believed that as many as 3,000 Christians are imprisoned in Eritrea under extreme conditions.

Earlier this year two Christian women died as a result of a hunger strike to protest their treatment, with autopsies revealing they had been raped.

One report on the hunger strikes states:

Two Pentecostal women have died following a hunger strike after being transferred to a hospital from the detention centre where they were being held.

Eritrean website Erimedrek News reported that the women had been detained at Wi’a Military Camp and had begun a hunger strike in protest at the abuse they were experiencing whilst incarcerated.

The site also reported that bruises on the women’s bodies suggested that they had injuries consistent with sexual abuse.

The women were admitted to Massawa Hospital on 12 March, where they were guarded by security personnel, but died five days later.

In late May, coinciding with the beginning of Ramadan, 89-year old Eritrean Christian Patriarch Antonios marked ten years under house arrest.

A number of countries, including the U.S., denounced the continued detention of the leader of the Eritrean Orthodox Church and the denial of medical treatment:

In the past few years, Eritrea has been one of the top countries for refugees — with tens of thousands living in camps in neighboring Ethiopia, having fled Eritrea’s religious persecution.

Many have died trying to escape.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Africa, Coptic Christians in Egypt continue to be killed in random attacks.

Attacks are occurring throughout Egypt:

The campaign has been going on all year long:

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Since the suicide bombing of the church in the cathedral compound in Cairo last December, nearly 100 have been killed in three suicide bombing attacks on churches and the bus massacre of Coptic pilgrims at the beginning of Ramadan in May — all attacks claimed by the Islamic State:

As I’ve reported here at PJ Media, Egyptian authorities have stopped at least two other attacks, one targeting a monastery in Assiut in April, and another last month at a church in Alexandria:

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Attacks on the Coptic Christians are incited by the Muslim Brotherhood:

And the media:

Egypt has the largest Christian community in the Middle East — more than all the other countries combined. Those other Christian communities in the Middle East and Africa also remain under siege:

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An estimate of Christians killed for their faith in 2016 that will be released shortly will report that nearly 100,000 were killed.

With attacks increasing this year, the suffering among the world’s most widely persecuted faith continues.

Patrick Poole
For media inquiries, please contact [email protected]

Patrick Poole is a national security and terrorism correspondent for PJMedia. Follow him on Twitter.
Category: HOMELAND SECURITY
Tags: HOMELAND SECURITY

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