An additional 35 Christians in Eritrea, Africa were reported to have been arrested for holding prayer meetings.
The said arrest took place in a span of two months conducted by soldiers in Asmara and in Assab, CBN News reported. There were 23 and 12 people arrested respectively from Asmara and Assab and many of which were women gathered in a prayer meeting.
Those in Asmara were brought to the Mai Sarawa prison and then released on April 11 except for one. While those in Assab were brought to the prison there and remains in captivity.
According to the Release International, the Assab prison is in a remote port area reserved for military use and renowned to be a harsh jail, which means it is dangerous for the women prisoners. Many Christians are held captive in the prison ever since the government declared most religions as illegal in 2002, such that some have been detained for more than a decade.
Release International, who provides support for those persecuted in Ethiopia along with 24 other countries in the world, reported that 165 Christian prisoners are held in various state jails across Eritrea that included army conscripts who practice their faith. These exclude the many prisoners that have been released by the government since September 2020.
However, not all Christians are banned in the country such as Orthodox, Catholics, and Evangelical Lutherans. Those who practice Sunni Islam are not banned in Eritrea as well.
Release International added that it is believed that the Eritrea government has released the Christian prisoners to strengthen its ties with Ethiopia whose Prime Minister is a Christian. The Eritrea military has made Ethiopia an ally against Tigrinya rebels and has announced it will withdraw its troops from the conflict after being reported for attacking churches and for systematic rape.
"Eritrea has been likened to the North Korea of Africa. Release continues to press the government to release its prisoners of faith - every one of them. We urge Eritrea to repeal its restrictive religious laws and grant full freedom of faith to its citizens," said Release International CEO Paul Robinson on the matter.
Meanwhile, the Barnabas Fund reported that Eritrean church leader Dr. Berhane Asmelash announced they are unaware why one of the Christian prisoners was retained in the Mai Sarawa prison. Asmelash previously thought that "change is coming" when the Eritrean government started releasing Christians last year.
The Barnabas Fund said 70 Christians were released from three jails in January 2021 alone. But Asmelash was surprised when the 35 Christians were imprisoned. Thus, the country remains "one of the worst countries in the world for Christian persecution," as per the Barnabas Fund.
Notwithstanding, Asmelash called for continued prayers for the Christians in Eritrea especially for those who are still in prison and their families.
"Pray for all Eritrea, for a change of policy, for democracy and freedom of worship," he said.
Christianity Today reported in January that 13 Christians are killed every day with 12 Christians are unjustly arrested or imprisoned and 5 are abducted daily. The outlet said that 1 in 8 Christians worldwide face persecution, which converts to 1 in 6 Christians in Africa.
The said data were based on the annual accounting of the 2021 World Watch List that identifies the top 50 countries where Christians are mostly persecuted. The same report revealed that 309 million Christians experience extreme levels of persecution. Of the top 50 nations, 19 are in Africa.
