More Christians Arrested; Imprisoned Pastors may Face Treason Charges in Eritreaby Staff
June 4, 2008
(christiansunite.com) - Police raided a private home and jailed 25 Christians who had gathered in Adi Kuala on Eritrea's Independence Day on May 24 to pray for their nation, according to a May 27 report from Compass Direct. Twenty men and five women meeting in a Christian's home were taken into custody. All are members of the local Medhane-Alem group, a renewal movement within the Eritrean Orthodox Church. They are now being held in a police station in the town which is about 90 km southwest of the capital city of Asmara.
Two separate groups of Christian prisoners held in detention for the past three months have been reportedly released recently. Ten members of the Church of the Living God, a breakaway group from the Eritrean Orthodox Church, were set free after three months' detention in the Mendefera police station. Another 15 members of the Kale-Hiwot Church who had been held in the Keren police station were also released. All the discharged prisoners were forced to pay 80,000 nakfa ($5,330) per person as bail. When they were set free, authorities strictly warned them against involvement in any Christian activities in the future. Some were forced to surrender property deeds as bond, in order to secure the steep bail demands.
The Compass report also indicated that the Eritrean government plans to press formal charges of treason against several pastors jailed for the past four years. Relatives and church members of the long-jailed pastors are experiencing "great anxiety" over these unconfirmed reports. Official conviction for treason carries the death penalty in Eritrea. Three of the most prominent pastors -- Full Gospel Church leaders Haile Naizghi and Dr. Kiflu Gebremeskel, together with Tesfatsion Hagos of the Rema Evangelical Church -- have been imprisoned incommunicado for the past four years.
Pray for the release of those in prison for the sake of Christ. Ask God to sustain by His grace the pastors and their loved ones as they face continued suffering (1 Peter 5:12).
For more information on the persecution facing Eritrean Christians, go to
www.persecution.net/country/eritrea.htm.
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