Washington D.C., Jul 7, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Freedom House’s Center for Religious Freedom called yesterday upon African Union leaders currently meeting in Addis Ababa to press the government of Eritrea, in the horn of Africa, to free three prominent pastors and two popular Christian singers arrested as part of a two-year government crackdown against evangelical Christians. All detainees are Eritrean.
According to the Christian news service “Compass Direct,” at 6 a.m on Sunday, May 23, Haile Naizgi, chairman of the Full Gospel Church, one of Eritrea’s largest Pentecostal denominations, and Dr. Kifle Gebremeskel, chairman of the Eritrean Evangelical Alliance, were arrested at their homes in the capital Asmara.
During the arrests, police officials reportedly confiscated the keys to the pastors’ offices and verbally threatened the men’s wives.
Four days later, Pastor Tesfatsion Hagos of the Rema Evangelical Church in Asmara was arrested while visiting Massawa, Compass Direct also reported.