Eritrea: 10 Journalists Jailed for 10 Years and Counting

• Said Abdulkader

   

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  34 years old at time of arrest. Believed to have died in March, 2005. Founder and Editor of Admas.

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• Yusuf Mohamed Ali

   

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  46 years old at time of arrest. Believed to have died in June 2006. Editor of Tsigenay.

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• Amanuel Asrat

   

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  41 years old. Editor of Zemen (The Time).

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• Temesghen Gebreyesus

   

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  46 years old. Sports journalist and member of the board of directors of Keste Debena (Rainbow).

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• Mattewos Habteab

   

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  40 years old. Editor and co-founder of Meqaleh.

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• Dawit Habtemichael

   

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  40 years old. Deputy editor and cofounder of Meqaleh.

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• Mehanie Haile

   

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  33 years old at time of arrest. Believed to have died February 2006. Deputy Editor for Keste Debena (Rainbow).

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• Dawit Isaac

   

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  48 years old. Owner and cofounder of Setit.

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• Seyoum Tsehaye

   

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  59 years old. Freelance photographer and journalist, former director of Eri-TV.

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• Fessehaye Yohannes a.k.a. "Joshua"

   

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  46 years old at time of arrest. Believed to have died on January 11th, 2007. Other sources say he may have committed suicide in 2003. Cofounder of Setit.

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Eritrean president Isaias Afeworki, whom The Economist refers to as “a barefaced dictator who has muzzled the press and ravaged a generation of young men,” leads a government who has imprisoned and tortured a group of Eritrean politicians and journalists for a decade.

In September of 2001, with the global media’s eye fixed on 9/11, independent newspapers were closed and ten journalists imprisoned. Above are the images of the six journalists still in prison and the four who died in jail.

The victims are reportedly held in metal storage containers, such as the above used in a Sweedish protest, that reach 122° Fahrenheit in the Eritrean desert sun.

In the same campaign to eradicate dissidents the dictatorship imprisoned 11 of 15 public officials who wrote a letter calling for a democratic dialogue.

Until recently, the Eritrean government has received little pressure from foreign governments for human rights reform, according to Reporters without Borders.

Sign a petition for the release of these prisoners.