Dec
29
2009
Pray for the Persecuted Church in Eritrea
Hebrews 13:3 – “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.”
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On December 5 government authorities arrived at a prayer meeting taking place in Asmara, the capital city of Eritrea. The thirty elderly women in attendance were arrested and taken to jail. Though the women were released ten days later, hundreds of Christians remain imprisoned in metal shipping containers, military barracks, and underground dungeons without proper sanitation and nutrition.
Eritrea is a small east African nation with a population of 5 million. It borders Ethiopia, Sudan, and the Red Sea. In 2002 the military government of President Isaias Afewerki outlawed all religious groups other than Muslims, Lutherans, Catholics, and Orthodox. Since then thousands of Christian members of unregistered churches have been put in jail and tortured for their faith.
One case that received international attention was that of Eritrean Christian singer, Helen Berhane. She was arrested and held for over two years, often in a metal shipping container, without ever being charged with a crime. Her captors severely beat her in an effort to force her to renounce her faith. The BBC reports:
Among the tortures she endured was the infamous "helicopter" position, in which the prisoner is placed face down with arms and legs tied behind the back.
After an international campaign, she was released in December 2006. She fled to Khartoum, Sudan before being granted asylum in Denmark.
2009 began with another wave of mass arrests as the Eritrean government continued to engage in systematic persecution. Prisoners are often brutally tortured in attempts to force them to recant their faith. Several died this year while in custody as a result of torture and a lack of proper medical care.
Over 3,000 Eritrean believers are still suffering in prison. Thousands more worship weekly with the knowledge they could be arrested at any time, and up to 500 a week flee to Sudan and Ethiopia (there are an estimated 160,000 Eritreans now living in Sudan). They need our prayers and support. You can sign an online petition calling on the Eritrean government to put an end to this persecution. For more information on persecution in Eritrea, see the July 2009 issue of Release.