About 122 Christians who are said to be members of unregistered denominations across Eritrea have been detained.
According to the group, Christians have been arrested, forced out of their homes and sent to detention camps, leaving many children without parents.
Last month, over 60 Christians were rounded up in the Godaif District, Asmara alone. This has led to Christians in Eritrea fleeing to safer areas and others have begun periods of prayer and fasting for peace and safety.
CSW defends rights to freedom of religion in over 20 different countries and seeks to draw attention to the crimes against humanity that are being committed in East Africa.
The Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has reached out to the Human Rights Council (HRC) for support.
The Chief Executive; Mervyn Thomas expressed her frustration stating that this has been ongoing since 2002 which means that freedom of religion in Eritrea has continued to climb up the ladder. She went on to call out to the Human rights council to make sure that those involved in the crimes are put behind bars:
“These arrests signify a renewed intensity in the crackdown that has been ongoing since 2002, and are a clear indication that the severe repression of freedom of religion or belief continues unabated in Eritrea.
In her latest report, the Special Rapporteur noted that Eritrea has ignored the bulk of recommendations from her previous reports, while those made by the Commission of Inquiry have gone unheeded.
In view of the continuing violations and lack of cooperation, we call on the HRC to support the renewal of the Special Rapporteur’s mandate, and also to urge the international community to ensure that perpetrators of crimes against humanity are held accountable, including through universal jurisdiction, whenever this is appropriate.”
