EU Hostages Family Alliance

9,000 days since 🇸🇪 Dawit Isaak was taken by the Eritrean dictatorship & buried in silence for daring to speak freely. Somewhere inside Eritrea, Dawit remains frozen in time. Not because the world could not free him, but because it chose to adapt to his disappearance. That is the architecture of enforced disappearance: not only to remove a person, but to outlast the world’s attention span. 9,000 days is not a detention. It is an attempt to make disappearance feel normal. 9,000 days is enough time for memories to blur, headlines to die, outrage to exhaust itself. @SwedishPM @MariaStenergard, at some point, continuing to “raise concerns” while your citizen vanishes for over 24 years stops being diplomacy & becomes permission. Isn’t it time for Sweden to act like Dawit Isaak’s life still matters & finally bring him home? @SwedishPM @SweMFA @AmnestySverige @amnesty @pressfreedom @RSF_inter @FreeDawit @pen_int @PEN_Ertra @TheRWCHR @LantosFndn @RSF_RUG @Tunback @Europarl_EN @EP_President @EUCouncil @EritreaMfa @CPJAfrica @MehariMeng53005 @bergersus @eu_eeas @kajakallas @UNHumanRights @UN_HRC @JasonPoblete @EvaMariaHall @MehariMeng53005 @Danait4 @BietelhemI @KurdoBaksi @esayasisaak @Edelstam

Aujourd'hui marque 9 000 jours depuis que le journaliste et écrivain suédo-érythréen #DawitIsaak a été emprisonné par les autorités érythréennes sans inculpation, sans procès et sans accès à une procédure régulière. Neuf mille jours ne représentent pas seulement une durée stupéfiante, mais aussi un rappel brutal de l’impunité persistante entourant ces détentions et de la suppression systématique de la liberté de la presse en Eritrea. Nous appelons le gouvernement érythréen à libérer immédiatement et sans condition Dawit Isaak ainsi que tous les journalistes emprisonnés et prisonniers d’opinion. Nous appelons également la Sweden et l’European Union à intensifier leurs efforts en faveur de Dawit Isaak et à exiger des réponses claires concernant son état de santé et le lieu où il se trouve. Alors que nous marquons ce sombre jalon, nous exprimons notre solidarité avec Dawit Isaak, sa famille, ses collègues et toutes celles et ceux qui continuent de lutter pour la liberté d’expression, la dignité humaine et la justice en Érythrée. raoulwallenbergcentre.org/fr/nouvelles/2…

Dawit Isaak: 9,000 days held without charge or trial in Eritrea. @bergersus and @Edelstam are right that #Sweden has a window now, as the US weighs sanctions relief for Asmara, to make Isaak's release and that of other long-term detainees a condition rather than an afterthought. Ending hostage diplomacy works when, if needed, the right amount of leverage is used; it fails when the moment passes. America and Sweden can make this happen as a new chapter with Eritrea unfolds. Cake-cutting with US officials and dictators makes for public diplomacy; the release of political prisoners makes for a genuine celebration. Isaak and the US persons wrongfully detained must be released. #HumanRights @GLALegalDefense @AsstSecStateAF @EmbassyEritrea @US_SrAdvisorAF

9000 dagar och 1.000.000.000 hjärtslag senare: #DawitIsaak är fortfarande fängslad utan rättegång. Och alla oberoende medier är förbjudna i #Eritrea dn.se/kultur/ett-hja…

2/2 Global Number of Jailed Writers Tops 400 for First Time, With Sharp Rise in Iran hostageaid.org/global-number-… Washington D.C. - Pen America In 2025, a total of 401 writers were jailed across 44 countries – up from 375 writers in 40 countries the year before. Over the past seven years, the number of jailed writers worldwide has risen by 68 percent, underscoring a steady & alarming escalation in the suppression of dissent. China has also increased its global reach – often crossing borders to silence critics or suppressing minority voices in its autonomous regions. Swedish citizen & Hong Kong-based publisher Gui Minhai was kidnapped in 2015 in Thailand, & has been held in China ever since. His daughter has not received any updates on his well-being since 2020. @angelagui_

Day 3,671 of injustice for Ahmadreza Djalali. "It’s past high time the Swedish govt steps up, demands [his] release, & does whatever is necessary to bring him home.
You have done it for others. [He] deserves the same dedication, if not more! Act NOW to #SaveAhmadreza" @SwedishPM

Imprisoned for 9,000 days – Dawit Isaak must be released now! globalbar.se/2026/05/impris… Sweden & the EU cannot allow Eritrea to continue its evasions about #DawitIsaak's fate

9000. Niotusen dagar och nätter. En svensk medborgare i fängelse i tjugofyra och ett halvt år. @MariaStenergard – vårt hopp lever om snar frigivning. Vad sker? @FreeDawit #FreeDawit #FreeDawitIsaak @MariaStenergard @Utrikesdep @SwedishPM @Sverigesriksdag

More than a decade after the disappearance of 🇮🇹 Paolo Dall'Oglio in Syria, there are still no answers, no accountability, & no sustained int’l effort that matches the gravity of his case. Father Paolo was not simply a priest. He was one of the most powerful voices for dialogue & human dignity. He did not abandon Syrians in their darkest hours. He remained when many left. He defended coexistence as hatred & violence consumed the country, & he disappeared while trying to help others find safety. The world continues to speak of the values he embodied, while still failing to deliver what his case demands most: truth. @GiorgiaMeloni @Antonio_Tajani, a man who dedicated his life to human dignity should not have been left to vanish into silence. Please work on resolving this case & #BringPaoloHome! @ItalyMFA @ItalyMFA_int @Palazzo_Chigi @ItalyinSyria

Sweden's approach "suggests the presence of an unspoken political calculus. If harm had come to a Swedish diplomat like Johan Floderus, the public outcry would have been considerable. Leaving behind a dual national like Ahmadreza Djalali involved far less political consequences." @bergersus @Free_Djalali globalbar.se/2026/04/iran-w…

8993. Åttatusenniohundranittiotre dagar och nätter. En svensk medborgare i fängelse i tjugofyra och ett halvt år. @MariaStenergard vårt hopp lever om snar frigivning. @FreeDawit #FreeDawit #FreeDawitIsaak @MariaStenergard @Utrikesdep @SwedishPM @Sverigesriksdag

HAW Daily Brief 1/2 Kurdo Baksi: Malmer Stenergard, Demand A Meeting with Gui Minhai! hostageaid.org/kurdo-baksi-ma… Sweden - Göteborgs-Posten On the tenth anniversary of Gui Minhai’s abduction in Thailand, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard was in China, focusing on promoting Swedish export interests. That a dictatorship treats a Swedish publisher brutally is, unfortunately, not surprising. That a democracy like Sweden is perceived as passive in defending its own citizen, however, raises serious criticism and questions. In a better world, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard would already have demanded a meeting with Gui Minhai in the prison where he is being held. After years of silence, the need for proof of life is urgent—and the responsibility to act clearly weighs heavily on Swedish authorities. @KurdoBaksi

How do you wish someone a “happy” birthday when he has been unlawfully detained in China since 2015, cut off from his family, silenced, & left in limbo that has already stolen a decade of his life? Today marks another birthday for 🇸🇪 publisher Gui Minhai, & another year behind bars. 3,853 days. No freedom. No contact with his loved ones. No transparent legal resolution. Each passing year does not soften this injustice, it deepens it. @SwedishPM @MariaStenergard, how many more years must pass before words turn into action? When will Sweden recalibrate its strategy & act decisively to bring its citizens home? It’s time to #FreeGuiMinhai! @SweMFA @AmnestySverige @amnesty @pen_int @UN_HRC @antonioguterres @swedeninchina @Europarl_EN @EP_President @EUCouncil @eu_eeas @EU_Hostages @RSF_RUG @Erik_Larsson @KurdoBaksi @RSF_inter @ChinaEmbSweden @bergersus @angelagui_ @Edelstam @Magnus_Fiskesjo

8 years since Sonja Nientiet, a German nurse who chose to help others in Somalia, was taken by force from where she served. She was there to help the most vulnerable. To heal. To stand by people in crisis. She went to save lives & never came home. Since May 2, 2018, silence has stretched far too long. No resolution. No closure. Just time passing while she remains in captivity. @bundeskanzler @AussenMinDE, it’s been 8 years! This anniversary is not only a reminder. Sonja is still waiting. It is a call to act. #FreeSonja! @_FriedrichMerz @GermanyDiplo @AuswaertigesAmt @JoWadephul @OlaOlga

End this injustice for Ahmadreza Djalali and his family. His supporters will continue to keep his name in the light, but with the right political will, you could do so much more to reunite this family so cruelly torn apart. A crime against humanity. @SwedishPM @MariaStenergard

Stay informed with our latest monthly newsletter, bringing you key updates and ongoing advocacy efforts for wrongful detainees and hostages worldwide. Dive into this month’s featured op-ed, and hear directly from former hostages and their families as they share their stories and perspectives. Read it here: conta.cc/4cojObP

Day 3,660 of injustice for Ahmadreza Djalali and his family. They have endured cruel separation since April 2016, nearly ten. His supporters will keep his name in the light and continue to call for his release and return home to Sweden. #SaveAhmadreza @SwedishPM @MariaStenergard

On #WorldPressFreedomDay, we honor the courage of journalists who risk everything to report the truth, & we remember those who have paid the ultimate price for it. Today, we stand with those silenced not by choice, but by force: unlawfully detained, imprisoned, or disappeared simply for doing their work. We honor, & refuse to forget:
🇺🇸 Austin Tice: missing in Syria for nearly 14 years;
🇸🇪 Dawit Isaak: forcibly disappeared for over 2 decades in Eritrea;
🇺🇸 Reza Valizadeh: sentenced to 10 years in Iran;
🇬🇧 Jimmy Lai: sentenced to 20 years in China; and the countless others still missing, detained, or silenced around the world. Journalists are being hunted, jailed, & erased. Not in secret, but in plain sight. #JournalismIsNotACrime. The int’l community must ACT. Not someday, not symbolically, but NOW: demand their release, enforce consequences, & protect those still at risk. @POTUS @SecRubio @StateDept @SwedishPM @MariaStenergard @Keir_Starmer @YvetteCooperMP @DebraTice @mccarrennews @FreeDawit @BietelhemI @Edelstam @thecfhk @TheRWCHR @washingtonpost @PressClubDC @PFC_NPC @pressfreedom @RSF_inter @FreeDawit @pen_int @PEN_Ertra @rcfp @SupportJimmyLai

Accommodating autocrats emboldens them. Eritrea is being welcomed back not for reform, but for strategy. A dangerous trade-off. @MehariMeng53005 @martinplaut @KjetilTronvoll @JasonPoblete @HostageAid @Expressen @SweMFA @MariaStenergard @TheRWCHR

Eritrea is one of the world’s most repressive dictatorships, with a deeply troubling human rights record. The regime continues to unlawfully detain & forcibly disappear innocent civilians. Among them are Swedish-Eritrean journalist Dawit Isaak, the world’s longest-imprisoned journalist, & American-Eritrean Ciham Ali, wrongfully detained at just 15 & now 29. In recent weeks, U.S. & EU envoys have visited Eritrea & met with government officials. A senior U.S. envoy has also held talks with Eritrean leaders amid rumors of lifting sanctions. @POTUS @Europarl_EN @SwedishPM, do not legitimize repression. No deals, no normalization, no lifting sanctions until US & EU political prisoners are freed & the disappeared are accounted for. This is a decisive moment, please use your leverage now to #FreeThemAll! #FreeDawit #FreeCihamAli @SweMFA @AmnestySverige @amnesty @pressfreedom @RSF_inter @FreeDawit @pen_int @PEN_Ertra @TheRWCHR @LantosFndn @RSF_RUG @Tunback @bergersus @UNHumanRights @UN_HRC @JasonPoblete @Danait4 @BietelhemI @KurdoBaksi @esayasisaak @Edelstam @SecRubio @aboehler @StateSPEHA @WhiteHouse @StateDept @HouseForeignGOP @HouseForeign @saayEritrea