Sabitlenmiş Tweet
Imagine Being Imprisoned for 25 Years Without Trial. This Is His Story.
September 18, 2001, marks one of the darkest days in the modern history of Eritrea — a day when the voice of independent journalism was forcefully silenced. In the weeks leading up to that moment, Eritrea was witnessing an important national conversation. A group of senior government officials, later known as the G-15, had publicly called for democratic reforms and the implementation of the country’s constitution. Independent newspapers began covering these developments, encouraging public discussion about governance, accountability, and the future of the nation. Instead of dialogue, the response was repression. The government ordered the immediate closure of all private newspapers and launched a sweeping crackdown on journalists. Security forces arrested editors, reporters, and publishers across the country without warrants, without charges, and without any legal process. Among those taken was Amanuel Asrat — a widely respected poet, writer, and editor-in-chief of Zemen.
Amanuel Asrat was not simply a journalist; he was a cultural figure who helped nurture Eritrea’s literary community. Through his writing and leadership, he promoted critical thinking, artistic expression, and the idea that a healthy society requires open conversation. On that September day in 2001, security agents arrested him at his home in Asmara. From that moment forward, he vanished into a prison system defined by secrecy. No formal charges were ever filed against him. He was never brought before a court of law. His family was never allowed to see him. For nearly twenty-five years, there has been no confirmed information about his condition, his location, or even whether he is still alive. His case has become one of the longest enforced disappearances of a journalist anywhere in the world.
Amanuel Asrat was not alone. Several other journalists were detained during the same crackdown, including Dawit Isaac and Seyoum Tsehaye, among others whose fates remain unknown. Their arrests marked the complete dismantling of independent media in Eritrea. Since that time, no privately owned newspaper, radio station, or television network has been allowed to operate freely inside the country. For more than two decades, Eritrean journalists have either lived in exile or in silence.
International human rights organizations have repeatedly condemned these detentions. Groups such as Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have described the imprisonment of these journalists as arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights even ruled that Eritrea’s actions violated international law and called for the immediate release of those detained. Yet, despite years of global advocacy, the Eritrean authorities have remained silent.
As September 18 approaches once again, nearly twenty-five years since that historic crackdown, the world must remember that behind every statistic is a human life. Amanuel Asrat was a writer who believed in the power of words. He believed that citizens deserve information, that ideas should be debated openly, and that truth should never be treated as a crime. When a journalist disappears without explanation, it is not only the individual who is imprisoned — it is truth itself. Remembering his name is therefore not just an act of memory; it is a demand for justice. The world must continue to ask the same simple question: Where is Amanuel Asrat?
#FreeAmanuelAsrat #FreeDawitIsaac #PressFreedom #Eritrea #JournalismIsNotACrime #HumanRights #EndEnforcedDisappearance #JusticeForJournalists #NeverForget
@RSF_en @amnesty @hrw @pressfreedom @pen_int @CPJAmericas @OneFreePress
English
