Legal framework on freedom of religion and actual application
In 1997, four years after its independence, Eritrea’s National Assembly approved the country’s constitution. Article 19 (1) states: “Every person shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and belief.” Article 19 (4) further adds: “Every person shall have the freedom to practice any religion and to manifest such practice.”
However, the constitution has never been implemented and the authorities have always governed by decree. In one such decree, issued in 1995, the government recognizes only four religious communities: the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eritrea, the Catholic Church, and Sunni Islam. Other religions are not allowed and are considered illegal. Furthermore, the religions that are allowed to operate, do so under certain restrictions.
Generally, the government keeps a strong control on all Christian Churches and on the Muslim community. The ruling party, the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), appoints the leaders of the Muslim community and the Orthodox Church. The government also pays the salaries of Orthodox Church leaders and controls their means of transport, including fuel rations, as well as their activities and financial resources. By contrast, the Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church have maintained a certain degree of autonomy.
The country’s four authorized religious communities still require permission from the Office of Religious Affairs to print and distribute religious literature among their faithful. Religious leaders and religious media are not allowed to comment on political matters. To assure compliance, every year the Office of Religious Affairs reiterates to Church leaders the provision contained in the decree of 1995 regarding religious organizations. The religious leaders are required to submit reports about their activities to the government every six months. The Office also forbids the four recognized religions from accepting funds from abroad; this restricts financial resources to income generated locally generally limiting religious activities to worship. The decree further states that if the Churches wish to engage in social works, they must register as NGOs and concede the supervision of their funding from abroad to the authorities.
The registration procedure that non-recognized religious communities must follow is complex and leaves the door open to harassment of the affected groups.
Due to those restrictions and Eritrea’s strict limitations on the freedom of expression, it is difficult to find reliable information about the current situation of religious freedom. The incidents mentioned below are thus only representative.
Incidents and developments
Since Eritrea’s independence in 1993, President Isaias Afwerki and his political party, the Popular Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) , has ruled the country with an iron hand. According to international observers, “political participation is impossible for the general public, civil rights and freedom of expression and assembly are absent, and human rights are routinely violated”. The regime’s military service, which the UN has called a form “slavery”, obliges all males aged between 18 and 60 and females between 18 and 27 to serve in the military – officially – for 18 months, but the conscription can last decades. Since November 2020, recruits have been forced to fight in Ethiopia’s civil war. Eritrea imprisons those who refuse, including on religious grounds, and to be freed they need to renounce their religious affiliation.
Religious freedom as a human right is non-existent. It is common for members of unrecognised religious groups to testify being arrested and detained with no explanation. Reports suggest that there are 2,000 to 2,500 people detained in the Mai Serwa maximum-security prison, which is near the capital Asmara, 500 of whom are there because of their religion or belief.
In a rare positive sign, over the course of January and February 2021, the regime released “dozens of Evangelical and Orthodox Christian imprisoned for their religious beliefs and practices” reportedly detained for “between 2 to 12 years”. Throughout end 2020 to early 2021, 32 Jehovah witnesses were also released – some imprisoned since 1994 – though according to reports approximately 20 remain incarcerated.
In March 2021, 35 Christians were arrested for conducting various prayer meetings. The army raided a meeting that was attended by 23 women in Asmara. Another 12 were arrested in Assab, 660 miles south-east of Asmara, near the border with Djibouti.
In May, the Eritrean government targeted the Catholic Church, closing or nationalising nine schools, and threatening to do the same for an additional 19 Church-run primary schools. Catholics number about 4 percent of Eritrea’s 6 million people. The bishops in Eritrea spoke out against the decision and on 21 June addressed a letter to the Minister of Education, Mr. Semere Reesom, denouncing the nationalisation. The closures followed the government's seizure of Catholic clinics in the recent past which severely restricts the services of the Church in the country. The bishops said: “The schools and clinics confiscated or closed, or about to be confiscated or closed, are the legitimate property of the Catholic Church, built, established and organised in the supreme and exclusive interest of serving our people.”
In July, two pastors were arrested, with a third being placed under house arrest, in Asmara. All three were from the Full Gospel Church and were in their 70s. Pastor Girmay Araya and Pastor Samuel Okbamichael were taken at night and brought to the Wengel Mermera Central Criminal Investigation Interrogation Centre, which is part of Asmara’s 2nd Police Station.
In September 2021, authorities arrested 15 Christians in Asmara during raids on private houses, all of whom had been previously jailed for their beliefs. Some had served prison sentences of up to 16 years. Aged from their late 20s to their 60s, they were released in summer 2020 but rearrested after a list of Christian contacts was discovered. They were taken to the Mai Serwa prison close to Asmara.
On 9 February 2022, Patriarch Abune Antonios of the Eritrean Orthodox Tawahedo Church died at the age of 94 at the Church residence in Asmara where he had been incarcerated for 15 years. His body was taken for burial to the Abune Andreas monastery on 10 February. Large crowds gathered at his gravesite with many mourners having travelled long distances on foot. Abune Antonios became Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tawahedo Church in 2004 and was placed under house arrest in 2007, even though no formal charges were brought against him. He was punished for refusing government requests to excommunicate 3,000 Church members, and spoke out about the imprisonment of Christians, including three Orthodox priests. Abune Antonios was kept in isolation for most of his time in detention, reportedly being denied medical care despite suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure.
In March, 29 Evangelical Christians were arrested after security forces raided a prayer meeting in a house in Asmara. 17 women and 12 men were taken to the Mai Serwa prison. It is not known what prompted the raid by the security forces, although every residential area in Eritrea is reported to have a government spy living there.
The ongoing involvement of Eritrea in the war in Ethiopia has had significant ramifications for the internal human rights situation in Eritrea. In a report by Mohamed Abdesalam Babiker titled “Situation of human rights in Eritrea” presented to the 50th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (Geneva 13th June - 8th July 2022), Babiker drew attention to allegations that Eritrea had been forcing civilians, including minors, to enlist in the continuing battle. He observed “a worsening in previously documented patterns of forced conscription of children” adding “a large number of children were allegedly injured or killed during the early stages of the conflict, and dozens sustained grave injuries causing disabilities.”
On 24 August, the Hagaz Agro-Technical School (HATS), a Catholic educational establishment founded and administered by the brothers of the Christian Schools (LaSalle Brothers), was seized by the government. This was one of the many confiscations that have occurred in the country since 2019. The government justifies these actions by citing a 1995 law that restricts the operations of religious institutions. Eritrea’s Catholic bishops “have opposed the application of the regulation, arguing that the Church’s social services are not in opposition to the government”.
On 7 September, soldiers forcibly conscripted teenagers attending Mass at Medhanie Alem Church in Akrur village. Eritrean priest, Father Mussie Zerai, described how “the soldiers arrived during Mass and surrounded the church to prevent anyone from escaping” and “proceeded to take the teens by force, including all the boys of the choir”.
On 18 October 2022, Bishop Fikremariam Hagos Tsalim as well as two Eritrean priests were arrested by national security officers at the international airport. On 28 December, Bishop Fikremariam and Fr. Mehereteab Stefanos were released from prison by authorities. The second priest also arrested, Abbot Abraham of the Capuchins, had not yet been released at time of writing. The release of the clerics comes amid discussions to end the civil war in Ethiopia.
The US State Department continues to designate Eritrea a Country of Particular Concern for persistent violations of religious freedom since 2004.
Prospects for freedom of religion
Eritrea is a dictatorship in which most human rights including religious freedom are violated. During the reported period, there has been no change in government policy. The regime ruled by the unelected president, Isaias Afewerki, emphasizes “martyrdom for the nation” over spiritual values and decrees that citizens live accordingly. The PFDJ does not allow for freedom of any religious belief, even though it is granted in the Constitution. With an absence of political and civil rights, the human rights situation in the country remains dire, with arbitrary detentions being commonplace. According to the UNHCR, in 2021 alone 29,792 people fled Eritrea applying for asylum in other countries. Unfortunately, it is anticipated that the ongoing repression, forced military conscription and economic collapse will force many more to seek the perilous flight abroad. The prospects for religious freedom remain grim.
Eritrea