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Eritrea

• Eighteen More Evangelicals Arrested

  Compass Direct is reporting that, in separate arrests on November 23, Pastor Iyob and seven of his parishioners of the Kale Hiwot Church in the town of Mendefera, Eritrea were taken into custody. Friends and families have been unable to officially confirm the charges against them but local sources claim that their only crime is their evangelical Christian faith.

  The November 25 report from Compass Direct also confirmed that ten young women from various Pentecostal churches had been recently arrested at Sawa, a military training camp near the Sudanese border.

  Sawa Training Camp

  This past summer, over sixty young people were arrested and tortured at Sawa for possessing Bibles (see https://www.vomcanada.com/er-2003-08-27.htm). Six of these young people are still believed to be in isolation cells at the camp.

  Earlier this month, two women were released after 21 months in the Assab military prison for participating in banned evangelical worship meetings.

  With the latest arrests, the number of evangelical Christians reported to be in prison for their faith is estimated to be at least 334. Prison officials regularly use torture, deprivation and threats in attempts to force them to retract their evangelical beliefs. These arrests are part of a continuing effort to close all unauthorized churches. Only the Orthodox, Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran and Muslim faiths are recognized as "official" religions in Eritrea.

  Pray for the strength for Christians to stand firm in their faith despite the continuing oppression. Pray that this campaign against evangelicals in Eritrea will stop and that freedom to worship and believe will be recognized.

  The Voice of the Martyrs would urge you to write a polite letter to the Eritrean embassy or consulate in your country, protesting their mistreatment of evangelical Christians. You can find contact information at http://www.un.int/eritrea/world.

  
   

• Full Gospel Church Confiscated

  

  According to an October 30 report from Compass Direct, government forces have sealed a complex in the Eritrean capital of Asmara that has been rented to the Full Gospel Church for use as their headquarters and meeting place for the past eleven years. On September 17, 2002, soldiers entered the complex and refused to leave, declaring it government property. Since then, five soldiers have remained in a section of the complex. On October 15, government forces ordered the church staff and members to hand over the building, saying that the church had violated presidential directives and was involved in an illegal "cell-group" ministry. On October 26, the building was completely sealed and church members were refused entrance.

  The Eritrean government refuses to recognize the Full Gospel Church and a dozen other independent Protestant churches with a combined membership of around 20,000 members. Since May 2002, all of these churches have been ordered to close their church buildings and stop both public and private meetings.

  Christians in Eritrea face constant harassment and the threat of imprisonment for their faith. On September 7, twelve young people were arrested and were told they would only be released when they deny their faith.  At last report, the twelve remain in custody, refusing to deny Christ. On October 5, the police pressured their parents to persuade their children to sign the denial. According to a fellow evangelical, "These arrested Christians don't care about what happens to themselves but many are worried about what might happen to their parents now."

  In August, sixty-two young people were arrested for possessing Bibles at the Sawa summer military camp. All but six have been released, and none of those freed will discuss the terms of their release. At present, there are 230 known evangelicals in prison for their faith. The government denies that there is any religious persecution in Eritrea.

  Pray for spiritual, physical, and emotional strength for those in prison for their faith in Eritrea. Pray for their families and for the many Christians harassed and not allowed to worship freely. The Voice of the Martyrs would urge you to write a polite letter to the Eritrean embassy or consulate in your country, protesting their mistreatment of evangelical Christians. You can find contact information at http://www.un.int/eritrea/world.

   

• Young People Arrested; Ordered to Renounce Their Faith

  Twelve more evangelicals were arrested in Eritrea on September 7 while worshipping in a private home. Other than the owner of the home, those arrested were described as young people and were all members of the Dubre Bethel Church in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. According to the report received today from Compass Direct, the six men and six women were ordered to renounce their faith in order to be released. When they refused, all food rations withheld until they sign the agreement. When parents of the young people tried to visit, they were told they could only see their children if they tried to convince them to deny their faith. Those who agreed have been promised a meeting today.

  These twelve join over 200 other evangelical Christians currently in prison for their faith in Eritrea. On August 19-20, sixty-two high school students were arrested for having Bibles. Five agreed to renounce their faith and were released. To date local evangelical church leaders have received no information on the other fifty-seven.

  Join in fervent prayer for these young people, as they stand firm in their faith. Pray that all those in prison will know the continual presence of Christ with them. Pray for many others who face the threat of prison and torture for their faith.

• Students Arrested for Having Bibles

  More than sixty teenage students have been arrested and severely punished when they were caught with Bibles at a compulsory military training camp in Eritrea. In June, hundreds of grade 11 students were ordered to report to the Sawa military base for the summer. It is believed that, in September, they will be required to continue their schooling at the base rather than returning home. According to an August 21 report from Compass Direct, military commanders searched the conscripts' belongings on August 19 and 20, looking for Bibles. Sixty-two Protestant students were arrested, tortured, and put into metal shipping containers where they were subjected to no light, extreme heat, and limited air and food.

  The latest arrests bring the number of known evangelicals in prison for their faith to 213, including seventy-nine soldiers that the Persecution and Prayer Alert reported on earlier this year, arrested for refusing to deny their Protestant beliefs.

  While authorities deny any religious persecution in Eritrea, the government officially recognizes only four religions: Orthodox Christian, Muslim, Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran. For the 20,000 Pentecostal and charismatic Christians, many of whom have come from a renewal movement within the Orthodox Church in Eritrea, arrests, beatings and harassment from government officials has become increasingly common and brutal.

  Pray that these students and others in prison for their faith will be released and that the escalating oppression by authorities will stop. Pray that believers will stand firm in their faith, in spite of the pressure to recant. Pray that they would witness to the faithfulness of God through their suffering.

• VOM Launches Two New Shortwave Programs

  In recent weeks, The Voice of the Martyrs and High Adventure Gospel Communication Ministries have launched two new shortwave radio programs into Egypt and Eritrea. The Road to Emmaeus, an Arabic program, is being broadcast into Egypt every Friday at 0845 UTC (10:45 a.m. local Cairo time) on shortwave frequency 17.595 on the 16-meter band. The Voice of Light program airs on Tuesday evenings at 1700 UTC (8:00 p.m. local Eritrea time) on shortwave frequency 13.810 on the 22-meter band in Tigringa. Both programs are produced in Canada by local pastors. Glenn Penner, Communications Director for The Voice of the Martyrs, said, "We are so pleased to have a significant role in these programs. Both programs are meeting a vital need in their respective countries. The Road to Emmaeus presents the gospel in a way accessible and understandable to Egyptian Muslims, while The Voice of Light is more directed to encouraging Eritrean evangelicals who are being persecuted for their faith, as half of the program consists of dramatic readings of our best-selling book 'Jesus Freaks.'"

  Samples of both of these programs can be heard online through links at https://www.vomcanada.com/links.htm. Pray for the effectiveness of both of these programs. Pray, too, for those who are preparing the programs.

• Another Fifty-six Evangelicals Arrested

  Despite a formal statement made by the Eritrean government on May 1 that "no groups or persons are persecuted in Eritrea for their beliefs or religion," security police arrested two full-time evangelists and another 54 members of the Rema Church during the evening of May 7 in Asmara for allegedly conducting "illegal prayer meetings" in two homes of their members. As of yesterday, Compass Direct reported that the jailed Christians, 21 women and 35 men, remained under detention at the No. 7 Police Station in the capital's Kahawta district. Compass sources said the Christians were undergoing "severe punishment" at the hands of police authorities.

  More than 300 Protestant Christians have been arrested, beaten and sentenced with death in the last three months for holding religious meetings without government permission. A year ago, the Eritrean government revoked official status for all religious groups in the country except the four "recognized" religions: Orthodox Christian, Muslim, Roman Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran.

  Pray for those currently being held. Pray that they will be released. Pray that they would know God's comforting presence in the midst of their suffering and that they would know how to give an answer for the hope that they have in Christ.

• Believers Face Arrest and Conscription

  For the past several weeks, The Voice of the Martyrs has been following the increasing persecution of Protestant Christians in Eritrea.

  In the latest incidents, Compass Direct reported on May 5 that, over the Orthodox Easter weekend, two members of the government-recognized Evangelical Lutheran Church were arrested and detained for three days. Following tradition, a group of believers was singing hymns in the streets of central Asmara on the evening of April 26 when police confronted them. Most of the group fled, but two young men stayed and were arrested and held without charges. They were released after being warned to not repeat this Easter tradition again.

  Three days later, on April 29, military police raided homes and workplaces in the northern province of Sahel, arresting 56 members of independent Pentecostal churches. Military authorities justified the raid as "conscription for military service." According to other church members, however, most of the 16 women and 40 men had already served their mandatory military service. They were all members of the Full Gospel Church or the Kale Hiwot Church.

  None of the 56 have been heard from since their arrests. Security police said they were taken to the Sawa Military Training Center, but the families have been unable to confirm this. The families are concerned for their safety, particularly since another 74 Protestant Eritrean soldiers have been held in the Assab military prison for more than a year. They have been subjected to beatings, threats and abuse for refusing to deny their Pentecostal beliefs.

  Pray for physical, mental, and spiritual strength for all those arrested. Pray that family members of the arrested soldiers will receive news soon. Pray that the recent increase in persecution in Eritrea will end.

• Continued Attacks on Evangelicals

  On April 9, the Persecution and Prayer Alert reported that 170 Protestant Christians had been beaten, jailed, and threatened by security forces in Eritrea. On April 21, Compass Direct reported on two more attacks within the past week.

  In Kushte, a small town ten kilometres from the capital Asmara, a Bible study group was meeting in a home on April 17 when ten individuals, four reported to be Orthodox priests, pushed their way into the room and began beating them with sticks. All fifteen were admitted to hospital, one with a serious eye injury. The fifteen were members of a renewal group within the Orthodox Church.

  In a separate incident on eleven members of the Mesert Christos Church in Asmara were detained in their church by security police on April 18. They were released that evening after being warned to not try meeting again.

  Though freedom of religion is guaranteed in the Eritrean constitution, only four groups are recognized: Orthodox Christians, Muslims, Catholics and Evangelical Lutherans. Much of the recent persecution is against the independent Pentecostal and charismatic churches which now number around 20,000 members. For the most part, these churches have emerged from a renewal movement within the Orthodox Church which began five years ago.

  Pray that those facing persecution for their faith will be able to be an effective witness to those around them, including their persecutors. Pray for those still held without charges for refusing to deny their faith.

  Starting this summer, The Voice of the Martyrs will be broadcasting a radio program into Eritrea specifically to encourage persecuted Christians in this east African nation. Current plans are for half of the program to consist of dramatic readings from VOM's best-selling book, "Jesus Freaks" in the Tigringa language. Two years ago, The Voice of the Martyrs published "Jesus Freaks" in Amharic, the main language of neighbouring Ethiopia. Said Glenn Penner, Communications Director of The Voice of the Martyrs, "Persecuted Christians in Ethiopia have found 'Jesus Freaks' to be an incredible source of encouragement. Sharing a common culture and similar persecution, we have been assured by believers from the area that these testimonies will have a similar impact in Eritrea. Eritreans are avid radio listeners and we are convinced that this is the proper strategy for this increasingly 'closed' nation. Of course, no nation is truly closed to the Spirit of God. Pray that these broadcasts will be used mightily by His Spirit."

• 170 Protestants Beaten and Jailed

  Compass Direct has reported on a crackdown on Protestant Christians in Eritrea during February and March. A total of 170 Protestant Christians have been jailed, beaten and threatened with death by Eritrean security forces.

  According to a report received on April 9, in five separate incidents, police barged into worship services and a wedding ceremony to jail men, women and children for practicing what government officials called "a new religion."

  Although no formal charges have been filed, those jailed were held in cramped, suffocating cells for up to two weeks for refusing to return to the historically dominant Orthodox Church faith. One group endured 15 days in metal containers designed as severe punishment cells. Another congregation witnessed its pastor being tortured and humiliated in the jail yard. When relatives posted bail for their release, they were forced to sign a statement acknowledging that if a bailed prisoner was caught meeting in public or private with more than three others, he would be liable for execution.

  Seventy-four soldiers remain in a military prison near the southern port city of Assab. They were arrested in February 2002 for refusing to recant their personal religious beliefs and return to the Orthodox Church.

  Pray for a strength and peace from the Holy Spirit for those suffering for their religious convictions in Eritrea. Pray that those in prison will soon be released.