Eritrea has imprisoned church leaders for decades without charges

In the nearly 21 years since two Orthodox priests were arbitrarily imprisoned in Eritrea, their wives have died.

Neither the Rev. Gebremedhin Gebregiorgis nor Dr. Futsum Gebrenegus have been charged with a crime since their arrest on Nov. 19, 2004, nor has a third Orthodox priest seized at that time, the Rev. Tekleab Menghisteab, received due process. All three were active in a renewal movement within the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church that the regime of President Isaias Afwerki, in power since 1993, persecuted — though the Orthodox church is one of four religious bodies legal in Eritrea.

The Orthodox priests based in Medhane Alem Church are three of six Christians imprisoned in horrific conditions since 2004, along with another arrested in 2005 — all without charges, trial or access to an attorney, rights advocates say. The seven Christian leaders are reportedly being held incommunicado at Wengel Mermera Criminal Investigation Centre, a maximum-security prison in Asmara that the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) describes as one of Eritrea’s “atrocious” prisons.

Gebrenegus’ wife and father died in the years following his incarceration. Pastor Gebregiorgis’ wife, Tsegeweyni Mekonnen Haile, died of cancer in June 2022, leaving behind her husband and three children.

Pastor Menghisteab, a highly respected physician, was on the day of his arrest the most senior physician at St. Mary Psychiatric Hospital in Asmara. His wife Wubie Kahsay and daughters Hana, Sesayit and Rediet have since fled the country for their own protection.

Christian rights groups in various countries are calling on the international community to take action on behalf of the seven Eritrean Christians imprisoned for more than 20 years by means of demonstrations, processions and prayer meetings scheduled for Friday, International Day Commemorating Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief. Information can be found at the Voice for Justice Facebook page.

As part of the Religious Liberty Partnership’s Voices for Justice campaign (#Voices4justice), advocacy group 21Wilberforce and other groups including Set my People Free and Christian Freedom International have scheduled a rally and march to the Eritrean Embassy in Washington, D.C. a day earlier, Thursday, as the embassy is closed on Friday. Beginning at 11 a.m. at the Dupont Circle Fountain, embassy participants will take the short walk to the embassy to pray, call for the release of the seven Christian leaders and condemn religious freedom and human rights violations in Eritrea.

Also on Thursday, Christian Solidarity Worldwide has scheduled a peaceful protest outside the Eritrean Embassy in London, and in Brazil MAIS plans an online prayer event. On Friday, aid HMK Switzerland (Hilfe für Mensch und Kirche) has organized a peaceful protest outside the Eritrean embassy in Geneva; the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka has organized an online prayer event in Colombo, and other online prayer events are set in Nigeria by CSW Nigeria and in Texas by Freedom Seekers International.

Open Doors is mounting advocacy campaigns for the occasion in France, Italy, Denmark, Canada and Sweden; as is Set My People Free in Sweden, Voice of the Martyrs Canada and Voice of the Martyrs Poland, while International Christian Response (ICR) and others will do so in the United States.

Unimaginable Loss 

Two of the seven imprisoned church leaders, the Rev. Haile Naizge and Dr. Kuflu Gebremeskel, were arrested in early morning raids on their homes on May 23, 2004. Pastor Naizge was at that time chairman of the Full Gospel (Muluwengel) Church, and Pastor Gebremeskel was then chairman of the Eritrean Evangelical Alliance and a visiting university lecturer.

Pastor Naizge’s mother was seriously ill at the time of his detention, and she was not allowed to see her son before she died. The pastor’s wife Rahel and their three children, Shalom, Joel and Naher, were forced to flee and eventually found refuge in North America.

Pastor Gebremeskel was last seen during hospital visits in 2021. Pastors Naizge and Gebremeskel are reportedly being held incommunicado at the Wengel Mermera site.

Held without charges for more than 21 years is the Rev. Million Gebreselassie, also known as Meron; he led Rhema Evangelical Church in Massawa and worked as an anesthetist at Massawa Hospital when he was arrested on June 3, 2004, at a police checkpoint at the entrance of Asmara.

Pastor Gebreselassie was held at Asmara’s 2nd Police Station for two months before being imprisoned in Wengel Mermera.

A seventh church leader was detained in 2005. On March 18, 2005, police forcibly “disappeared” the Rev. Kidane Weldou from the streets of Asmara. He has been held in arbitrary detention without due process since then, presumably at Wengel Mermera. The married father with four daughters was senior pastor of the Church in Asmara and a member of the Executive Committee of Gideons International in Eritrea.

Eritrea recognizes only four religious groups as legal: the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Sunni Islam, the Roman Catholic Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eritrea. Other religious groups are required to register, but the regime has refused to approve new registrations since 2002, according to the U.S. Department of State.

About 51% of Eritrea’s estimated population of 6.3 million people identify as Sunni Muslim, according to USCIRF’s 2025 annual report. Some 41% of the population is Eritrean Orthodox and 5% as Roman Catholic. Protestant and unaffiliated Christians, atheists and nonbelievers, indigenous practitioners of traditional religion, Shi’a Muslims and Baha’is make up less than 5 percent of the population, according to USCIRF.

Interested parties may help advocate for the seven Christian leaders through 21Wilberforce’s campaign to sign or copy and send letters to the Embassy of Eritrea in Washington, D.C. or to the U.S. Secretary of State calling for additional pressure on Eritrea to release them.

Voices for Justice is a collaborative community focused on securing justice for individuals and communities around the world who are targeted for their faith. Its first ever campaign brings together organizations, churches and individuals from countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America to mark the International Day Commemorating Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief on Friday (Aug. 22) with prayer gatherings and peaceful protests raising awareness of the plight of the seven leaders, and appealing for their release.

This article was originally published by Christian Daily International.